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Birth name | David James Paice | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 24 November 1983 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 103 kg (16 st 3 lb) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Brisbane State High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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.
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]
England Saxons
London Irish