Paul Thorburn Rugby player
Paul Thorburn (born 24 November 1962 in Rheindahlen, West Germany) is a former Neath RFC and international Wales rugby union player who played at full back. He also captained Wales.Thorburn was a prolific long distance goal kicker. He holds the record for the longest successful kick in an international test match (although not the longest in Rugby Union as a whole). He gained the record during the 1986 Five Nations Championship at Cardiff Arms Park with a penalty kick measuring exactly 70 yards 8 and a half inches (64.2m) against Scotland. A record that is still today thought never likely to be surpassed on the international rugby stage. The kick was even more impressive because it was from a significant angle not directly in front of the posts, the kick was off the ground not off a kicking tee and it was a damp day so the ball was therefore heavierThorburn was also in the Wales squad for the 1987 Rugby World Cup, during which he scored a conversion that won Wales third place in the competition.He retired from playing in 1991. He was tournament director for the World Cup in 1999 and also a former special projects manager for the Welsh Rugby Union.In 2006 he joined Ospreys after leaving the Welsh Rugby Union, however he left the club in June 2010 to pursue other business interests.