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Ben Earl
England international rugby union player From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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.
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Early life
Earl's mother, Belinda Earl, 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] Earl has said he was overweight until age 17.[4] He studied comparative literature at Queen Mary University.[3]
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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]
On his return to Saracens, Earl scored a hat-trick in their semi-final victory over Harlequins and then started in the 2022 league final which they lost against Leicester Tigers to finish runners up.[10][11] His performances during the campaign led to him being named Player of the Season.[12] The following season Earl helped Saracens win the Premiership, starting in the 2023 final as they defeated Sale Sharks to regain their league title.[13]
In May 2024, following an impressive season, Earl was named in the Premiership Rugby Team of the Season for the 2023–24 campaign.[14]
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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.[15] 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.[16] 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.[17]
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][18] He subsequently played in the final round of the tournament as England won away against Italy to win the competition.[19] Later that year, Earl came off the bench as England defeated France in extra-time to win the Autumn Nations Cup.[20]
Earl was included in the squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.[21] He started in their quarter-final victory over Fiji and semi-final elimination against champions South Africa.[22][23] In their last game of the tournament, Earl scored his first try at international level as England defeated Argentina to finish third with the bronze medal.[24]
Earl was retained for the 2024 Six Nations Championship and scored tries in home victories against Wales and Ireland.[25][26] He made a total of 73 carries throughout the competition, more than any other player in that campaign and the most by any Englishman since the 2016 tournament.[27] These performances led to his inclusion in the Team of the Championship.[28] Earl was also nominated for Player of the Championship, with that accolade ultimately awarded to Tommaso Menoncello.[29][30] At the end of the season, Earl was voted by his teammates as the England Men's Player of the Year at the 2024 RPA Awards.[31]
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Career statistics
List of international tries
as of 9 March 2025[update][32]
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Honours
- England
- 1× Six Nations winner: 2020[19]
- 1× Autumn Nations Cup winner: 2020[20]
- 1× Rugby World Cup third place: 2023[24]
- Saracens
- 3x Premiership Rugby winner: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2022–23[13]
- 1x Premiership Rugby runner-up: 2021–22[11]
- 1× Premiership Rugby Cup runner-up: 2018–19[7]
- Bristol Bears
- 1× European Rugby Challenge Cup winner: 2019–20[9]
- Individual
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References
External links
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