England international rugby union player
Rugby player
David James Paice (born 24 November 1983) is a former rugby union player. A hooker, he was a one-club man for London Irish and represented England eight times.
Career
Paice was born in Darwin and raised in Brisbane.[2] In 2003 during a gap year, he joined the academy of London Irish and made his club debut that same year.[2] Paice was a member of the side that were defeated by Gloucester in extra time of the 2006 European Challenge Cup final.[3] He also started in their loss against Toulouse at the semi-final stage of the 2007–08 Heineken Cup.[4] The following season saw Irish finish as runners up to Leicester Tigers in the 2009 Premiership final.[5]
Paice started for the England Saxons side that defeated New Zealand Maori to win the 2007 Churchill Cup.[6] On 1 February 2008 he started in a victory over Ireland A.[7][8] Paice received his first call up to the senior England squad for their 2008 tour of New Zealand.[9] On 14 June 2008 he made his debut in the opening test coming off the bench in a defeat at Eden Park.[10]
In November 2012, after a four year absence, Paice returned to the England squad and played in all of their autumn internationals including a win over New Zealand.[11][12] His last caps came on their 2013 tour of Argentina.[13]
Following relegation in 2016 Paice led London Irish to promotion during the 2016–17 season.[2] During that campaign he made his 250th appearance for the club and often captained the team on the field.[14] In 2018 Paice retired after fifteen years at London Irish and returned to his native Australia.[2]
Honours
England Saxons
London Irish
References
External links