Paul Knight (born 30 April 1959) is a Welsh former

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

international. Knight, born in

Trealaw Trealaw is a long village, also a Community (Wales), community and electoral ward in the Rhondda, Rhondda Valley, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It stretches over from the junction of Cemetery Road and Brithweunydd Road in the east, to the junction o ...

, was a tighthead prop who played for

Aberavon Aberavon () is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a district of Por ...

Pontypridd Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. Geography Pontypridd comprises the ...

and

Treorchy Treorchy (; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community (and electoral ward) in Wales. Once a mining town, it retains such characteristics. Situated in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in the Rhondda Fawr valley. Treorchy is also one of t ...

. In 1982, he was in the West of Wales team that faced Australia at Stradey Park. He gained five

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

caps during his career, starting with two Test appearances on Wales' 1990 Namibia tour, then was capped in a match against the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

later that year. In the 1991 Five Nations, he played in the first two matches, before losing his place to Neath prop John Davies. While with Treorchy in 1995, Knight was diagnosed with

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

, forcing him to retire from the sport. He uses a wheelchair and lives in an adapted home with wife Jennifer. His story was documented in a biography titled ''The Paul Knight Story'' in 2023.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Paul 1959 births Living people Welsh rugby union players Wales international rugby union players People from Trealaw Rugby union players from Rhondda Cynon Taf Rugby union props Aberavon RFC players Pontypridd RFC players Treorchy RFC players People with multiple sclerosis

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