Paul Forber (born 29 April 1964) is an English former

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played as a or in the 1980s and 1990s. He spent most of his career with St Helens, making almost 250 appearances in 11 seasons at the club. He also spent several seasons with

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

before finishing his career with

Workington Town Workington Town is a semi-professional rugby league club based in Workington, West Cumbria, England. The club plays home games at Derwent Park and competes in the RFL League One, League One, the third tier of British rugby league system, Briti ...

and

Rochdale Hornets The Rochdale Hornets are a professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, competing in the League 1, the third tier of European rugby league. The Rochdale Hornets are one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs tha ...

Playing career

Forber started his professional rugby league career with St Helens, signing for the club in May 1981. He made his first team debut a year later against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

during the

1982 Kangaroo tour The 1982 Kangaroo tour was the fifteenth Kangaroo tour where the Australian national rugby league team played a number of matches against British and French rugby league teams, in addition to the Test matches. The Australia national rugby lea ...

. He established a regular place in the first team during the 1984–85 season, and played for the club in the 1985 Premiership final, appearing as a substitute in the 36–16 win against

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers (often abbreviated to Hull KR) are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Craven Park, Hull, Craven Park and compete in Super League, the top tier of B ...

. The following season, he represented

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

in a "War of the Roses" match against

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

. He was a non-playing substitute in the

1987 Challenge Cup Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader Mohammad Najibu ...

final defeat against Halifax. He played at in the

1987–88 John Player Special Trophy This was the seventeenth season for the League Cup, known as the John Player Special Trophy for sponsorship purposes. St. Helens won the final, beating Leeds by the score of 15-14. The match was played at Central Park, Wigan. The attendance was ...

victory over

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. He also played in the

1989 Challenge Cup 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

final, but was again on the losing side, this time against

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

. Forber missed most of the 1990–91 season due to injury, but returned the following season to help Saints win the 1991–92 Lancashire Cup against

. In January 1993, Forber was signed by

for a fee of £25,000. He was released at the end of the 1998 season, and joined

. In 2023, Forber was inducted into the St Helens Hall of Fame.

References

External links

Profile
at Saints Heritage Society {{DEFAULTSORT:Forber, Paul 1964 births Living people English rugby league players Rugby league second-rows Rugby league players from St Helens, Merseyside St Helens R.F.C. players Salford Red Devils players Workington Town players Rochdale Hornets players Lancashire rugby league team players 20th-century English sportsmen