Paul Vautin (born 21 July 1959), nicknamed Fatty, is a former Australian rugby commentator and former professional rugby league player, captain and coach. He has provided commentary for the Nine Network's coverage of rugby league since joining the network in 1992 and also hosted The Footy Show from its beginnings in 1994 opposite co-host Peter Sterling, until 2017. An Australian Kangaroos Test and Queensland State of Origin representative lock or second-row forward, Vautin played club football in Brisbane with Wests, before moving to Sydney in 1979 to play with Manly-Warringah, whom he would captain to the 1987 NSWRL premiership. He also played for Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, and in England for St Helens.
After playing, Vautin became a sports commentator for the Nine Network, calling rugby league games alongside Ray Warren and the recently retired Peter Sterling. Later, during the Super League war, he was hired to coach Queensland in the 1995 State of Origin series and took the Maroons to an upset 3–0 whitewash of series favourite New South Wales.
After 46 years in the public eye having started his first grade career in 1978, Paul Vautin announced his retirement from commentating for channel 9 on 1 December 2024.
Vautin made his name in the late 1970s. He played for the Wests Panthers in the Brisbane Rugby League premiership, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in Sydney, St. Helens in England, Queensland in the State of Origin and the Australia national rugby league team. He finished his playing career with Sydney club the Eastern Suburbs Roosters in 1991.
He was graded as an 18-year-old by Brisbane Rugby League club Wests as a Lock in 1978, sometimes playing opposite another talented young lock from Valleys destined for future greatness as a Five-eighth named Wally Lewis. That year he got his first taste of senior representative football when he was chosen on the bench for the Brisbane Colts who played the touring New Zealand side at Lang Park.
Vautin was signed by Manly-Warringah club Secretary Ken Arthurson in late 1978 after Arthurson had viewed a tape of him scoring a 75-metre try from a scrum for Wests at Lang Park, and moved from Brisbane to play for the defending NSWRFL premiers starting in 1979.
Before signing with Manly, Vautin had offers from both Cronulla-Sutherland, and North Sydney whose coach, former Great Britain (and Cronulla) halfback Tommy Bishop actually visited the Vautin home in Brisbane and made an offer of AU$7,500 per season (according to Vautin, at the time he was on $100 per game with Wests Panthers). His father wished him to sign for Norths as it was more money than even he made as a train driver, but the Panthers got their hooks into it wanting money for their investment into Vautin and put a $6,000 transfer fee on their teenage back rower, which made Norths pull their offer. Within two days Vautin had signed with Manly for $6,000 per season who were more than happy to pay the transfer fee. According to Vautin, he told his father that he would probably last three years in Manly's reserve grade before coming back to resume his career with Wests.
After arriving in Sydney, Vautin did not impress Manly coach Frank Stanton (who at the time was also the City Firsts & Seconds, New South Wales and Australian Test coach), with his level of fitness which was OK for Brisbane football, but not for the Sydney Premiership. It was only when taken with the first grade squad to a pre-season tournament in Newcastle at the insistence of Ken Arthurson that Vautin finally started to make Stanton take notice by being among Manly's top tacklers in the games he played. From there Vautin, who had since earned the nickname "Fatty" from former Manly dual Premiership winning captain Fred Jones, was selected on the bench for Manly's Craven Mild Cup pre-season games against Norths, Souths and Western Suburbs.
After playing Reserve Grade for Manly in the opening round of the 1979 season, against St. George at Kogarah Oval, Vautin was chosen on the bench for First Grade, going on early when tough-tackling Terry Randall came off injured. Although the reigning premiers ultimately lost 9–34 to that seasons eventual Premiers, Vautin played well enough to be called upon to take Randall's place in the side over the coming weeks, playing second row until Igor returned from injury in Round 6, then moving to his preferred lock for the remainder of the season.
Vautin went on to play in grand finals with Manly in 1982 and 1983, going down to Parramatta both times. In 1983 he was the Dally M Second Rower of the Year and the Dally M Representative Player of the Year.
Vautin was named captain of Manly-Warringah in 1985 by coach Bob Fulton.
Vautin enjoyed success in leading Manly to an 18–8 victory over the Canberra Raiders in the 1987 Grand Final, the last played at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Before the 1987 season had started, the Manly club board had wanted Bob Fulton to install 1986 Kangaroo tour second rower Noel Cleal as club captain , replacing Vautin who had captained the side since 1985. Vautin won the Dally M Captain of the Year award for 1987.
Following the grand final victory in 1987, he traveled with Manly to England for the 1987 World Club Challenge against their champions, Wigan. The home side won a try-less game 8–2 at Central Park. During the match, Vautin was tackled over the sideline in front of the main grandstand. After easily being the best side in the Sydney competition during the year, and after the unbeaten 1986 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, the Manly players later admitted to over-confidence and took the game far too lightly, treating the trip more as a holiday than anything serious and actually continued their grand final celebrations while in England.
Vautin and Manly teammate Michael O'Connor both signed to play for the Alex Murphy coached St. Helens during the 1988–89 Rugby Football League season on 2 August 1988. Vautin would go on to captain St. Helens in his last match for them, a 27–0 loss to Wigan in the 1989 Challenge Cup Final played on 29 April 1989 at Wembley Stadium in front of 78,000 fans. It was the first time since 1952 that a team had been held scoreless. Vautin played 21 games for St. Helens in 1988–89 and made his début in English club rugby on 9 October 1988 in a 30–22 win over Hull Kingston Rovers at Craven Park in Hull.
He signed with the Eastern Suburbs Roosters for two years, where he even spent time in reserve grade after being dropped by coach Mark Murray - a former Queensland and Australian teammate, before retiring at the end of the 1991 NSWRL season. His last game for the out of contention Roosters was an 8–42 loss to eventual premiers Penrith at the Sydney Football Stadium on 25 August, the final round of the season.
Vautin made his Origin début for the Maroons in game 2 of the 1982 series.
In 1984, Vautin and Manly teammate Chris Close became the last Queensland representative players to be selected for the annual NSW City vs NSW Country game, when he was selected in the second row for NSW City for the game at the SCG, won 38–12 by City.
For the next nine years, he played for Queensland with the exception of 1986 when he missed 3 months of the 1986 season after breaking his arm against Penrith in Round 8 of the season at Brookvale Oval.