Paul Shields (born September 25, 1978) is an Irish professional

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 ...

footballer of the 2000s. He played at club level for

Ulster Rugby Ulster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the Irish regional pool of the United Rugby Championship and in the European Rugby Champions Cup, each of which they have won ...

and

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The club plays in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby union. It was formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. ...

, as a Hooker. He won two caps for the Ireland national team in 2003.

Ulster Rugby

Paul Shields attained 104 caps for

being the 9th member to join the 100 cap club. He has won the

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organization, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places pa ...

and Celtic Cup. In his first year Paul was nominated as the Ulster player of the year

Northampton Saints

Shields signed for the

in the 2007-08 season. Gaining praise over his pace as a hooker, he was placed on a rotational system with

Dylan Hartley Dylan Hartley (born 24 March 1986) is a former rugby union player who represented England and Northampton Saints. Hartley was the captain of England from January 2016 until the end of his international career in 2019. Earning his first cap in ...

. In September 2009 Shields retired from professional rugby after suffering a neck injury in the March of that year.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shields, Paul 1978 births Living people Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Northampton Saints players Rugby union hookers Ulster Rugby players Ballymena R.F.C. players Rugby union players from Belfast