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Ben Earl

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Ben Earl
Full nameBenjamin Arthur Earl
Date of birth (1998-01-07) 7 January 1998 (age 26)
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 128 (175)
2020–2021 → Bristol Bears (loan) 22 (55)
Correct as of 24 November 2024
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016 England U18 4 (0)
2017–2018 England U20 9 (20)
2020– England 35 (25)
Correct as of 24 November 2024

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

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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

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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]

In May 2024, following an impressive season he was named in the Premiership Rugby Team of the Season for the 2023–24 campaign.[11]

International career

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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.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14]

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][15] He subsequently played in the final round of the tournament as England won away against Italy to win the competition.[16] Later that year, Earl came off the bench as England defeated France in extra-time to win the Autumn Nations Cup.[17]

During the 2024 Six Nations Championship, he made a total of 73 carries throughout the tournament, more than any other player in that campaign and the most by any Englishman since the 2016 tournament.[18]

Career statistics

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List of international tries

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as of 24 November 2024[19]

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
5 24 November 2024 Twickenham Stadium, London, England 5–0 59–14 2024 Autumn International

Honours

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England
Saracens
Bristol Bears

References

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  1. ^ a b "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. ^ 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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Ben Earl signs new contract at Saracens". Premiership Rugby. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  6. ^ a b Baber, Andy (13 June 2018). "Rising Stars:Ben Earl". Premiership Rugby. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Premiership Rugby Cup Final: Northampton beat Saracens with three first-half tries". BBC Sport. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ a b Garry, Tom (16 October 2020). "European Challenge Cup final: Bristol Bears 32-19 Toulon". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Premiership final: Saracens 35-25 Sale - Sarries win sixth title in Twickenham thriller". BBC Sport. 27 May 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  11. ^ "Premiership Rugby Team of the Season 2023/34". Premiership Rugby. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  12. ^ "England U20s crush France 59-17 in Six Nations opener". Sky Sports. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  13. ^ "World Under-20 Championship final: England 17-64 New Zealand". BBC Sport. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  14. ^ O'Sullivan, John (16 March 2018). "England flood through as Ireland run out of steam and bodies". The Irish Times. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  15. ^ Jones, Chris (20 January 2020). "Six Nations 2020: England call up eight uncapped players". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ a b Henson, Mike (6 December 2020). "Autumn Nations Cup: England beat France in sudden death". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  18. ^ "Rugby Pass Top100 Players". RugbyPass. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  19. ^ "Ben EARL profile and stats". all.rugby. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  20. ^ "Ben Earl named in Six Nations Team of the Tournament". Saracens. 5 April 2024. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  21. ^ "Ben Earl nominated for Six Nations Player of the Championship". Saracens. 19 March 2024. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  22. ^ "Ben Earl: Saracens flanker wins Premiership Player of the Season Award". Sky Sports. 8 June 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
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