Paul Sterling

Who is Paul Sterling?

Paul Sterling is an English born English/Welsh rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s playing at representative level for England, and Wales, and at club level for Hull, Leeds Rhinos, and Hunslet Hawks as a Wing.

Sterling started his rugby league career in 1993, joining Hull from rugby union club Bradford & Bingley. Sterling was the 1997 Leeds Rhinos season's top try scorer.

Sterling won a cap for England while at Leeds in 1999 against France, and won caps for Wales in the 2000 Rugby League World Cup against Cook Islands, Lebanon, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea, at 36 years of age, he was the oldest player in the tournament.

In September 2000, Sterling took Leeds to an employment tribunal, claiming that he had been discriminated against by head coach Dean Lance earlier in the year. In December 2000, Leeds were ordered to pay Sterling £16,000 as compensation and to offer him a new one-year contract. Leeds intended to appeal against this ruling, but in April 2001, Sterling announced his retirement, stating that he had lost the desire to play the sport due to the incident.