Ben Earl
Full nameBenjamin Arthur Earl
Date of birth (1998-01-07) 7 January 1998
Place of birthRedhill, England
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Weight107 kg (236 lb; 16 st 12 lb)[1]
SchoolTonbridge School
UniversityQueen Mary University of London
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker, Number 8
Current team Saracens
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016– Saracens 110 (165)
2020–2021 → Bristol Bears (loan) 22 (55)
Correct as of 28 August 2023
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016 England U18 4 (0)
2017–2018 England U20 9 (20)
2020– England 25 (5)
Correct as of 28 August 2023

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.

Early life

Earl'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

Earl 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

Earl 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]

List of international tries

As of 30 October 2023[17]

Try Opposing team Location Venue Competition Date Result Score
1  Argentina Saint-Denis, France Stade de France 2023 Rugby World Cup 27 October 2023 Win 26 -23

Honours

England
Club

References

  1. 1 2 "Ben Earl player profile". www.englandrugby.com. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  2. ↑ Walsh, David (31 January 2021). "Latin 'fan', chess addict...and he can play rugby a bit too". The Times. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 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.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Mockford, Sarah (9 July 2018). "Hotshot: Saracens and England U20 back-row Ben Earl". Rugby World. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  5. ↑ "Ben Earl signs new contract at Saracens". Premiership Rugby. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  6. 1 2 Baber, Andy (13 June 2018). "Rising Stars:Ben Earl". Premiership Rugby. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  7. 1 2 "Premiership Rugby Cup Final: Northampton beat Saracens with three first-half tries". BBC Sport. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  8. 1 2 "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.
  9. 1 2 Garry, Tom (16 October 2020). "European Challenge Cup final: Bristol Bears 32-19 Toulon". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  10. ↑ "Premiership final: Saracens 35-25 Sale - Sarries win sixth title in Twickenham thriller". BBC. 27 May 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  11. ↑ "England U20s crush France 59-17 in Six Nations opener". Sky Sports. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  12. ↑ "World Under-20 Championship final: England 17-64 New Zealand". BBC Sport. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  13. ↑ O'Sullivan, John (16 March 2018). "England flood through as Ireland run out of steam and bodies". The Irish Times. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  14. ↑ Jones, Chris (20 January 2020). "Six Nations 2020: England call up eight uncapped players". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  15. 1 2 Grey, Becky (31 October 2020). "Italy 5-34 England: Visitors' victory proves enough to win Six Nations title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  16. 1 2 Henson, Mike (6 December 2020). "Autumn Nations Cup: England beat France in sudden death". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  17. ↑ "Ben EARL profile and stats". all.rugby. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
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