Paul Emerick (born January 24, 1980) is the head coach of the
American Raptors
The American Raptors is a professional rugby union team based in the municipality of Glendale in Colorado. The team plays in the transcontinental Super Rugby Americas competition . Established as the Glendale Raptors in 2006, the team was a foundi ...
in
Glendale, Colorado
The City of Glendale is a home rule municipality located in an exclave of Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 4,613 at the 2020 United States Census. Glendale is an enclave of the City and County of Denver and is ...
. He was the defense and skills coach and the 2019 interim head coach for the
Houston SaberCats of
Major League Rugby
Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Of ...
. He was a former
USA international
rugby player. He played
centre, fullback or
wing
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is exp ...
for the USA Eagles and last played professionally for
London Wasps
Club
Emerick was born in
Emmetsburg, Iowa, and played his university rugby with the University of
Northern Iowa Panthers
The Northern Iowa Panthers are the athletic teams of the University of Northern Iowa. The university is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference and competes in NCAA Division I (Division I FCS in football).
History
The school's mascot is t ...
. He then moved into senior rugby with the
Chicago Lions. He moved to Italian rugby in the 2004–05 season joining
Amatori Catania and then to Overmach Parma the following season. In the summer of 2006 Emerick completed a move to
Celtic League side Newport Gwent Dragons, the side he helped knock out of the
Heineken Cup
The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...
in a playoff a few months earlier with Overmach Parma. In 2008 Emerick re-joined Italian club
Overmach Parma
Crociati Parma Rugby F.C. are an Italian rugby union club. They are based in Parma in Emilia-Romagna. They were founded in 2010 by the merger of Rugby Parma F.C. (''Overmach Parma'') and F.C. Rugby Noceto and disbanded in 2014.
Rugby Parma
''Rug ...
from Welsh regional side
Newport Gwent Dragons
Dragons RFC ( cy, Dreigiau) are one of the four professional rugby union regional teams in Wales. They are owned by the Welsh Rugby Union and play their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport and at other grounds around the region. They play in t ...
. Overmach Parma had gone through a re-organisation that saw the club merge with Noceto in August 2010 to form
Crusaders Rugby Parma. In September 2010 he joined
Ulster Rugby
Ulster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby union, rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup.
The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Unio ...
on a 3-month contract. He signed a deal with
London Wasps in February 2012. On August 7, 2013 Emerick announced his retirement from professional rugby.
International
Emerick was first
capped by the USA Eagles in April 2003 against
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
and as of September 2011 Emerick has been capped 54 times becoming the first back in Eagles history to have more than 50 caps. As of June 19, 2012, Emerick had notched 15 career tries for the United States, ranking him second on the all-time list and first among active players.
Emerick received a yellow card in the closing minutes of the Eagles'
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to ...
match against
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
for a tip tackle on England's
Olly Barkley. Emerick was subsequently suspended for five weeks, ruling him out of the remaining Rugby World Cup campaign. He was suspended for ten weeks in 2009 for kicking Canadian center
D. T. H. van der Merwe
Daniel Tailliferre Hauman van der Merwe (born 28 April 1986) is a South African-Canadian rugby union player. He currently plays for the LA Giltinis of Major League Rugby (MLR).
He previously played for the Glasgow Warriors in the Pro14.
Ear ...
in the head during a qualifying match for the
2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South ...
.
Coaching career
Paul Emerick is the skills and defense coach for the
Houston SaberCats of
Major League Rugby
Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Of ...
on September 20, 2018.
International tries
References
External links
Newport profileUSA rugbyscrum.comUSA profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emerick, Paul
Houston SaberCats coaches
Male rugby sevens players
Dragons RFC players
1980 births
Living people
American rugby union coaches
American rugby union players
People from Emmetsburg, Iowa
United States international rugby union players
United States international rugby sevens players
Ulster Rugby players
Wasps RFC players