Benjamin Arthur Earl (born 7 January 1998) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a flanker for Premiership Rugby club Saracens and the England national team.
| Full name | Benjamin Arthur Earl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 7 January 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Redhill, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 107 kg (236 lb; 16 st 12 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Tonbridge School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | Queen Mary University of London | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early life
editEarl's mother worked as a retail industry CEO and his father as a solicitor.[2][3] Earl attended The New Beacon and Tonbridge School.[3]
At school level, Earl played much more cricket than rugby; he was an all-rounder and played for Kent until he was 15.[3] He also was a serious competitive swimmer until he was 13.[4] He has said he was overweight until age 17.[4] He studied comparative literature at Queen Mary University.[3]
Club career
editEarl started his playing career at Sevenoaks RFC and came through the Saracens academy.[4] He has stated that he prefers the freedom of playing flanker, but also plays Number 8.[4] In November 2016 Earl made his club debut against Gloucester in the Anglo-Welsh Cup and the following season he scored a try on his first Premiership start against Exeter Chiefs.[5][6] He started for the Saracens side that lost to Northampton Saints in the 2019 Premiership Rugby Cup final.[7]
In 2020, Earl agreed a new contract with Saracens and after it was confirmed the club would be relegated for the 2020-21 campaign, he joined Bristol Bears on a season-long loan along with teammate Max Malins.[8] During his loan spell, he started for Bristol in the final of the EPCR Challenge Cup as they defeated Toulon to win their first ever European trophy.[9]
He helped Saracens win the Premiership title in 2023, starting in the final as Saracens defeated Sale Sharks.[10]
International career
editEarl represented England at under-16 and under-18 level.[4][6] He was a member of the England under-20 team that completed a grand slam during the 2017 Six Nations Under 20s Championship and scored a try during the opening round against France.[11] He was selected for the 2017 World Rugby Under 20 Championship and scored a try in the final as England finished runners up to New Zealand.[12] The following year Earl captained the team as they finished runners up in the 2018 Six Nations Under 20s Championship and he scored a try in the final round against Ireland.[13]
In May 2018 Earl received his first call-up by coach Eddie Jones to the senior squad for their tour of South Africa and he was subsequently selected for the 2019 Six Nations Championship.[3] Earl was called up again for the 2020 Six Nations Championship and on 8 February 2020 made his Test debut off the bench as a replacement for Sam Underhill against Scotland at Murrayfield.[8][14] He subsequently played in the final round of the tournament as England won away against Italy to win the competition.[15] Later that year Earl came off the bench as England defeated France in extra-time to win the Autumn Nations Cup.[16]
Career statistics
editList of international tries
editas of 22 June 2024[update][17]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 October 2023 | Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France |  Argentina
|
8–0 | 26–23 | 2023 Rugby World Cup |
| 2 | 10 February 2024 | Twickenham Stadium, London, England |  Wales
|
5–7 | 16–14 | 2024 Six Nations Championship |
| 3 | 9 March 2024 | Twickenham Stadium, London, England |  Ireland
|
18–17 | 23–22 | |
| 4 | 22 June 2024 | National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan |  Japan
|
38–3 | 52–17 | 2024 Summer International |
Honours
edit- 1× Six Nations Championship winner: 2020[15]
- 1x Six Nations Championship Team of the Year: 2024
- 1× Autumn Nations Cup winner: 2020[16]
- 3x Premiership Rugby winner: 2018, 2019, 2023[10]
- 1x Premiership Rugby Player of the Year: 2022[18]
- 4x Premiership Rugby Team of the Year: 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024
- 1x Premiership Rugby runner-up: 2022
- 1× Premiership Rugby Cup runner-up: 2019[7]
- 1× European Rugby Challenge Cup winner: 2020[9]
References
edit- ^ a b "Ben Earl player profile". www.englandrugby.com. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- ^ Walsh, David (31 January 2021). "Latin 'fan', chess addict...and he can play rugby a bit too". The Times. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Kitson, Robert (1 October 2021). "Ben Earl: 'I'd do anything to play again for England. It's the pinnacle'". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Mockford, Sarah (9 July 2018). "Hotshot: Saracens and England U20 back-row Ben Earl". Rugby World. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- ^ "Ben Earl signs new contract at Saracens". Premiership Rugby. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ a b Baber, Andy (13 June 2018). "Rising Stars:Ben Earl". Premiership Rugby. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Premiership Rugby Cup Final: Northampton beat Saracens with three first-half tries". BBC Sport. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Bristol Bears: Saracens duo Ben Earl and Max Malins join on loan for 2020-21 season". BBC Sport. 6 March 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ a b Garry, Tom (16 October 2020). "European Challenge Cup final: Bristol Bears 32-19 Toulon". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Premiership final: Saracens 35-25 Sale - Sarries win sixth title in Twickenham thriller". BBC Sport. 27 May 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ "England U20s crush France 59-17 in Six Nations opener". Sky Sports. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ "World Under-20 Championship final: England 17-64 New Zealand". BBC Sport. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ O'Sullivan, John (16 March 2018). "England flood through as Ireland run out of steam and bodies". The Irish Times. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ Jones, Chris (20 January 2020). "Six Nations 2020: England call up eight uncapped players". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
- ^ a b Grey, Becky (31 October 2020). "Italy 5-34 England: Visitors' victory proves enough to win Six Nations title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ a b Henson, Mike (6 December 2020). "Autumn Nations Cup: England beat France in sudden death". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ "Ben EARL profile and stats". all.rugby. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- ^ "Ben Earl: Saracens flanker wins Premiership Player of the Season Award". Sky Sports. 8 June 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
External links
edit- Ben Earl at ESPNscrum
- Ben Earl at ItsRugby.co.uk
- England RFU profile
