England international rugby union player
Rugby player
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]
Career statistics
List of international tries
as of 22 June 2024[update] [ 17]
Honours
England
Saracens
Bristol Bears
References
^ 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