Ben Kavanagh

For the Australian footballer, see Ben Kavanagh (Australian footballer).

Ben Kavanagh (born 4 March 1988) is a Scotland former international rugby league footballer who last played as a prop for Halifax in the Championship.

Ben Kavanagh

Personal information
Born	(1988-03-04) 4 March 1988 (age 37) Halifax, West Yorkshire, England
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[1]
Weight	17 st 7 lb (111 kg)[1]
Playing information
Position	Prop
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2008–15 Widnes Vikings 180 19 0 0 68 2015(loan) → Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 15 0 0 0 0 2016 Bradford Bulls 17 1 0 0 4 2017–18 Hull Kingston Rovers 54 3 0 0 12 2019–24 Halifax Panthers 104 22 0 0 88 Total 370 45 0 0 172 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2013– Scotland 21 7 0 0 12
Source: [2][3] As of 26 December 2023

Background

Kavanagh was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England.

Career

Kavanagh initially joined Widnes on loan from Wigan in 2008. He scored two tries in 21 appearances for the Widnes club, and joined the club permanently at the end of the season, signing a three-year contract.^[4]

He went on to make 72 consecutive appearances for the club, and was the first player to be given a Super League contract by Widnes when they were granted a licence for the 2012 season.^[5]

Kavanagh is a Scotland international, and was named in their squad for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup as a replacement for the injured Keith Galloway.^[6]

On 7 May 2014, Kavanagh committed to playing for Widnes for two more years.^[7][8]

In October and November 2014, Kavanagh played in the 2014 European Cup competition. He played in all of Scotland's games and scored a try in their fixture against France.

In October and November 2015, Kavanagh played in the 2015 European Cup competition.

Kavanagh signed a two-year Deal with the Bradford Bulls following the 2015 season. Kavanagh featured in the pre-season friendlies against Leeds Rhinos and Castleford Tigers.

In January 2017, it was revealed that Kavanagh had signed a two-year deal to play for Hull Kingston Rovers.

In 2019, he joined Halifax. In September 2020, he signed a one-year contract extension with Halifax.^[9]

On 15 November 2024 he announced his retirement^[10]