Paul Vautin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Fatty Vautin

Personal information
Full name	Paul Vautin
Born	(1959-07-21) 21 July 1959 (age 66) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Playing information
Height	176 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	90 kg (14 st 2 lb)
Position	Lock, Second-row
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1978 Wests Brisbane 22 3 14 0 37 1979–89 Manly-Warringah 204 20 2 2 74 1988–89 St. Helens 21 4 0 0 16 1990–91 Eastern Suburbs 34 1 0 0 4 Total 281 28 16 2 131 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1978 Brisbane Colts 1 0 0 0 0 1982–90 Queensland 22 2 0 0 7 1982–89 Australia 13 0 0 0 0 1984 NSW City 1 0 0 0 0
Coaching information
Representative Years Team Gms W D L W% 1992 Brisbane Capitols 5 5 0 0 100 1995–97 Queensland 9 4 0 5 44

Paul Vautin (born 21 July 1959), also known as Fatty, is a famous Australian rugby league personality. He was a professional player, captain, and coach. After his playing days, he became a well-known rugby league commentator and TV host.

Paul Vautin started his career playing for Wests in Brisbane. Later, he moved to Sydney to play for Manly-Warringah, where he became captain and led them to a big win in 1987. He also played for Eastern Suburbs in Sydney and St Helens in England. He represented his state, Queensland, in the State of Origin, and played for the Australian Kangaroos national team.

After retiring from playing, Vautin joined the Nine Network as a rugby league commentator in 1992. He also hosted the popular TV show The Footy Show from 1994 until 2017. In 1995, he coached the Queensland team to an unexpected 3-0 victory over New South Wales in the State of Origin series. Paul Vautin announced his retirement from commentating for Channel 9 on 1 December 2024, after being in the public eye for 46 years.

Paul Vautin's Playing Career

Paul Vautin became famous in the late 1970s as a talented rugby league player. He played for several teams, including the Wests Panthers in Brisbane and the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in Sydney. He also played for St. Helens in England. On the representative stage, he proudly played for Queensland in the State of Origin series. He also represented his country, the Australian national team. His playing career ended in 1991 with the Eastern Suburbs Roosters.

Club Teams

Wests Panthers Beginnings

Paul Vautin started his professional career at 18 with the Brisbane Rugby League club Wests in 1978. He played as a Lock (lock forward). In his first year, he got a taste of high-level rugby when he was a reserve for the Brisbane Colts. They played against the touring New Zealand team.

In late 1978, Manly-Warringah signed Vautin after seeing him score an amazing 75-meter try for Wests. He moved from Brisbane to Sydney to join the Manly team in 1979.

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Success

When Vautin first arrived in Sydney, Manly coach Frank Stanton wasn't impressed with his fitness. However, Vautin soon proved himself by being one of Manly's best tacklers in pre-season games. He quickly earned the nickname "Fatty" from former Manly captain Fred Jones.

Vautin played his first game for Manly's top team in 1979. He came on as a replacement when a player got injured and played so well that he earned a regular spot. He played in the grand finals with Manly in 1982 and 1983, but his team lost to Parramatta both times. In 1983, he won the Dally M Second Rower of the Year award.

In 1985, Paul Vautin was named captain of the Manly-Warringah team. He led Manly to a great 18-8 victory over the Canberra Raiders in the 1987 Grand Final. This was the last grand final played at the famous Sydney Cricket Ground. Vautin also won the Dally M Captain of the Year award for 1987.

After their grand final win in 1987, Manly traveled to England to play against the champions, Wigan, in the 1987 World Club Challenge. Wigan won the game 8-2. The Manly players later admitted they were too confident and didn't take the game seriously enough.

St. Helens Experience

Paul Vautin and his Manly teammate Michael O'Connor signed to play for St. Helens in England during the 1988–89 Rugby Football League season. Vautin captained St. Helens in his final game for them, which was the 1989 Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium. St. Helens lost that game 27-0 to Wigan. Vautin played 21 games for St. Helens during his time there.

Eastern Suburbs Roosters Final Years

Vautin then signed with the Eastern Suburbs Roosters for two years. He even played some games in the reserve grade after being dropped by his coach, Mark Murray. Paul Vautin retired from playing at the end of the 1991 NSWRL season. His last game for the Roosters was a loss to Penrith.

State of Origin Games

Paul Vautin made his first appearance for the Maroons in the 1982 series. He played in Game 2 of that series.

For the next nine years, he was a regular player for Queensland. The only exception was in 1986, when he broke his arm and missed three months of the season. Game 1 of the 1990 series was Vautin's last State of Origin match. He was dropped after Queensland lost 0-8 to New South Wales.

International Matches for Australia

Paul Vautin made his international debut for Australia in 1982. This was in the first test match against New Zealand. Even though he played well for Queensland and Manly, he was not chosen for the famous 1982 Kangaroo tour at the end of that year. This team became known as "The Invincibles" because they went undefeated in Great Britain and France.

He returned to the Australian team for their tour of New Zealand in 1983. In 1984, he played in the second Ashes Test against Great Britain. During this game, he suffered a fractured cheekbone, which kept him out of 11 club games.

Vautin played 13 test matches for Australia during his career. He toured New Zealand twice, in 1985 and 1989. He was also selected for Australia in the successful 1988 Ashes series against Great Britain.

In 1989, Vautin was the vice-captain for Australia's tour of New Zealand. He even captained the team in three tour games. His final test match was a 22-14 win over New Zealand in Auckland in 1989. Throughout his career, Vautin often competed with other great players for the lock-forward position. He played in the second row for 7 of his 13 test matches.

Paul Vautin's Coaching Career

Paul Vautin was very loyal to his employer, Channel Nine, during the Super League war that started in 1995. He strongly supported the Australian Rugby League. Even though he had limited coaching experience, he was chosen to coach the 1995 Queensland State of Origin team. He had previously coached the Brisbane Capitols to a championship in 1992, winning all 5 games.

Many people thought Queensland would lose badly in 1995 because they had many young and new players. However, Vautin's coaching debut was like a fairy tale. His young Queensland team, without many of their star players who were aligned with Super League, achieved an amazing 3-0 series win over New South Wales.

In the 1996 State of Origin series, the Super League players were available again, and Queensland was expected to do well. However, they lost the series 0-3. After losing the 1997 series 1-2, Vautin was replaced as Queensland coach the following year.

After Rugby League: Commentary and TV

In 2000, Paul Vautin received the Australian Sports Medal. This award recognized his important contributions to Australia's international standing in rugby league.

Commentary Work

Paul Vautin started his television commentary career during the 1988 NSWRL Grand Final with the ABC. He joined the Nine Network in 1992 and became a regular commentator for their rugby league coverage. He often worked alongside famous commentators like Ray Warren and Peter Sterling.

Paul Vautin (on the left) with Darryl Brohman and Beau Ryan at the 2016 TV Week Logie Awards

Paul Vautin officially announced his retirement from commentating on 1 December 2024. He mentioned that he had "run out of petrol" but was also known for his strong opinions on the direction of the game.

Hosting The Footy Show

Vautin hosted The NRL Footy Show from 1994, which made him a big TV star. In 2005, he had a serious concussion while filming a segment for the show. He hit his head on concrete, but luckily, his helmet helped reduce the injury. He was off the show for about 10 weeks while he recovered.

From 1992 to 2004, he was a key part of Channel Nine's match commentary team. After his concussion, he focused more on The Footy Show but still contributed to the commentary for big games like the State of Origin. In October 2017, Paul Vautin left The Footy Show.