| Date of birth | (1977-01-26)26 January 1977 (age 48) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Paraparaumu, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft9+1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 85 kg (13 st 5 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Paraparaumu College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Paul Christopher Steinmetz (born 26 January 1977 inParaparaumu, New Zealand) is a retired professionalrugby union footballer. He made one appearance for theAll Blacks in 2002.
Steinmetz made his debut forWellington in 1997, but spent most of his first few seasons for the province as a reserve on a deep and talented squad. In 2000, he made 10 appearances including two starts in helping Wellington win the NPC championship.
In 2001, he finally solidified a starting position in the Wellington backs, which he held down through the remainder of his time with the province. His final match for Wellington before heading overseas was the 2003 NPC final.
Steinmetz made his debut for theHurricanes in the2000 Super 12 season, but saw very limited action in his first season. In2001 he made more of an impression, scoring 3 tries for the Hurricanes, but still found starts difficult to come by.
For the2002, Steinmetz was drafted to theHighlanders and had the finest season of his career to that point. He started every game for the club and scored 5 tries as they advanced to the semi-finals of the competition.
He returned to the Highlanders for the2003 season, and continued as a starter, scoring another three tries. However, it would be his last season in New Zealand as he signed forUlster for the following campaign.
Steinmetz signed withUlster in 2003 and went on to spend 6 seasons with the Irish province.
His appearances in his final two seasons were limited as he made the transition to player-coach and served as the team's backs coach in 2008–09. He scored his final first-class try in aHeineken Cup match againstStade Français on 24 January and retired as a player at the conclusion of the season.
A standout 2002 season saw Steinmetz earningAll Black notice for the first time, and he was added to the squad for the end of year tour as an injury replacement afterCarlos Spencer andKeith Lowen were ruled out. He was an unused substitute for the test againstFrance and on 23 November came on as a substitute in the 77th minute of a victory againstWales.
It would be the only international appearance for Steinmetz, who fell back down the pecking order in 2003 and left New Zealand to play abroad after the2003 Rugby World Cup.