Jeremy Paul has lived an interesting life. His ability for Rugby Union is something that has been discussed and admired from his playing days spanning from 1998-2008.
From 1998-2006, Paul was a member of the Australian National Team, capturing a gold medal in the 1999 Rugby World Cup.
The hooker also played for the ACT Brumbies lasting nearly a decade, earning the John Eales Medal after receiving 194 votes from his teammates.
In a podcast by Off Field, Paul discussed his unique upbringing, what it was like growing up with two older brothers and the impact his father and grandfather had on him from a young age.
When his father started to notice his mischievous ways, he would take him to the abattoir where he worked to show his son that he would be washing cows’ heads and smelling like meat all day if he didn’t clean up his act.
The other essential role model in Paul’s life was his grandfather. At age 13, the rugby star lived with mothers’ father on a farm, and according to Paul, gained invaluable wisdom from the old man.
Paul acknowledged that he would not be the man he is today without the experiences his grandfather and father passed onto him.
In addition to his early beatings in school (thanks to his older brother) and other distinctive qualities that made the New Zealand-born Australian’s life so interesting, he also had some brushes with the law as a teenager – potentially something that led to his consistent raucous lifestyle when he reached professional rugby union.
Initially, Paul’s interest was in rugby league as he would consistently make all the teams he tried out for. However, he fell into the rugby union at 16 and due to his talent in the sport, could not leave.
(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
Paul was keen to point out that in the early 90s, when he was just an amateur, he was still getting paid handsomely.
Eventually, the World Cup winner and former Eales Medal recipient fell into a life of partying as he became more successful.
Incredibly, however, he would still perform after heavy drinking nights and incidents similar to the Brumbies’ taxi one in 2000.
According to Paul, he would sometimes take younger players for wild nights out. Paul saw this as tests of mental fortitude.
If you could perform at practice hungover at a high level and display the same confidence on the field as if you hadn’t been drinking until 5:30am the previous morning, it said a lot about you as an overall athlete.
In fact, in his last tour of South Africa for games, the partier claimed he went out 14 nights in just 21 days. The eccentric athlete was quick to point out that he had also captured a Man of the Match in one of those games.
This wasn’t uncommon for Paul. During his playing days, he would dodge coach Eddie Jones by taking the stairs in team hotel to avoid seeing him in the elevator.
Though it seemed like he was dissing Jones, it was just a part of his regiment. Paul believes that Jones is the greatest coach – strategically and technically – that he has ever played for.
In terms of the greatest business mind and pillar for the sport, his other former coach Rod Macqueen did the most in his eyes.
Today, younger players can’t live the way Paul did thanks to social media.
Paul is frustrated by the moderation in which the sport is run currently off-the-field.
“You have the rest of your life to grow up. And you have the rest of your life to mature. And to make proper decisions. But you’re asking kids to be grown-up adults,” Paul said.
“Seriously, you’re asking 21-year-olds to become politicians. They want to be 21-year-old kids. And to be honest, let them experience what’s close to an actual rock star life.”
(Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
Despite the obvious violations of team conduct, Paul does not take back what he did during his playing career.
Answering to if he has any regrets, he commented:
“If I did that sh*t my whole life, I’d probably be locked up in a room full of pads. Mate, I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life but I’ve done a lot of good things too. I don’t think you can look back at things and go, ‘I wish I could have done this and that’.”
The only thing that truly appears to bother the decorated Australian is the current state of Australian Rugby Union. Though it is little known, there was a push to revitalize rugby union in which teams from all around the world would compete against each other and get paid.
Unfortunately, the plans fell through due to the perceived incompetence (by Paul) of the Rugby Union’s head honchos in Australia.
Now, Australia has lost to many subpar teams in the past few years.
The scheduling of the Union has really seemed to temper its greatness. Back in the early 90s and early 2000s when Paul played, people played for the love of the sport and it was easy to schedule games, but now things have changed.
Paul is quite bothered by what has become of rugby union and what it could have been. He referenced the impressiveness of the All Blacks and how Australia has only just adopted some of the training regiments used by New Zealand as of 2017, labelling it “ridiculous”.
Despite the frustration with the state of his sport, he is still a very content and happy person. If only the sport was thriving the way it did back in Paul’s playing day, who knows how good Australia would be in the world of rugby union?
One thing is clear, though. The impact Paul has made in the sport appears to be incredibly unique. The hooker seemed to live a movie-like lifestyle and while he may not have been the stereotypical role model, it is probably not out-of-the-question to say he has had a long-lasting on rugby in Australia and beyond.
Tune into the Off-Field Podcast below to hear the full interview with Jeremy Paul.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
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