Career Record: Played 28: Won 14, Drew 1, Lost 13
Test Points: 0.
Paul Rendall died on 13th June 2023 aged 69. He had been diagnosed with
motor neurone disease in 2022.
1984 v Wales (Twickenham) L 24-15 (FN)
1984 v South Africa (Johannesburg) L 35-9
1986 v Wales (Twickenham) W 21-18 (FN)
1986 v Scotland (Murrayfield) L 33-6 (FN)
1987 v Ireland (Dublin) L 17-0 (FN)
1987 v France (Twickenham) L 19-15 (FN)
1987 v Scotland (Twickenham) W 21-12 (FN)
1987 v Australia (Sydney) L 19-6 (W. Cup)
1987 v Japan (Sydney) W 60-7 (W. Cup)
1987 v Wales (Brisbane) L 16-3 (W. Cup)
1988 v France (Paris) L 10-9 (FN)
1988 v Wales (Twickenham) L 11-3 (FN)
1988 v Scotland (Murrayfield) W 9-6 (FN)
1988 v Ireland (Twickenham) W 35-3 (FN)
1988 v Ireland (Dublin) W 21-10
1988 v Australia (Brisbane) L 22-16
1988 v Australia (Sydney) L 28-8
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1988 v Australia (Twickenham) W 28-19
1989 v Scotland (Twickenham) D 12-12 (FN)
1989 v Ireland (Dublin) W 16-3 (FN)
1989 v France (Twickenham) W 11-0 (FN)
1989 v Wales (Cardiff) L 12-9 (FN)
1989 v Romania (Bucharest) W 58-3
1990 v Ireland (Twickenham) W 23-0 (FN)
1990 v France (Paris) W 26-7 (FN)
1990 v Wales (Twickenham) W 34-6 (FN)
1990 v Scotland (Murrayfield) L 13-7 (FN)
1991 v Italy (R) (Twickenham) W 36-6 (W.Cup)
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Paul Rendall pictured playing for England on 18th. January 1986. Photo G. Herringshaw.©
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Wily old prop Paul Rendall of Wasps first packed down for England at the age of 30 in a 24-15 defeat by Wales in 1984, the first of 28 appearances over the course of seven years. His debut was not especially memorable as both sides had endured a poor season and were playing for the minor places only. With public criticism ringing in their ears, England then headed for South Africa in a tour managed by Dick Greenwood, father of future international Will. Paul played in the second test in Johannesburg, but even he found the huge Springbok forwards difficult to cope with and the game was lost 35-9. Rendall missed the 1985 season, but made two appearances in 1986 against Wales and Scotland respectively. By 1987 Paul became firmly established in the side and played in six tests in total, including three in the inaugural World Cup.
From a playing point of view, the tournament was a failure for England, and prompted new manager Geoff Cooke to draw up a blueprint for future success. One of the main aspects of this masterplan was extensive fitness testing, and it was made clear to the likes of Rendall that pure physical strength would no longer be enough to keep him in the side. Paul knuckled down as well as anyone in the new regime and was rewarded with no fewer than nine caps in 1988, culminating in a satisfying win against the Wallabies in November. That year he was also joined in the scrum by his determined teammate from Wasps, Jeff Probyn, who also played with Paul in France for Askeans. Unfortunately, Rendall then suffered the disappointment of coming second in the Championship two years in a row, and for the 1991 season he was replaced by Jason Leonard. He made his final appearance in England's World Cup pool match against Italy. (Jon Collins)
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