Ben Toolis

Ben Toolis (born 31 March 1992) is a former Scottish rugby union player who most recently played for Kintetsu Liners in the Japan Rugby League One. Toolis represented Scotland at an international level.

Ben Toolis

Toolis in 2017
Birth name	Ben Toolis
Date of birth	(1992-03-31) 31 March 1992 (age 33)
Place of birth	Brisbane, Australia
Height	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)
Weight	118 kg (18 st 8 lb)
School	Marist College Ashgrove
Notable relative(s)	Alex Toolis (twin-brother)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Lock Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 2010–13 GPS Old Boys 48 () Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2013–2022 2014 2022–2024 Edinburgh Rugby → London Irish Kintetsu Liners 127 2 20 (25) (0) (20) Correct as of 5 April 2023 International career Years Team Apps (Points) 2015–2020 Scotland 30 (5) Correct as of 31 May 2022

Early life

Born in Brisbane, Australia, he played for Australia Youth (U18) and Junior (U20) in volleyball games and had a background of rugby. Ben was in the Australian National Rugby Academy squad and played in the IRB Pacific Nations Cup with his twin brother Alex. Subsequently, he was able to make it to the Premier Grade semi-finals in 2012 and 2013, a privilege he shared with Alex.^[1]

Professional rugby career

In 2013 Ben and Alex signed for Edinburgh Rugby, joining the club's Elite Development Player Programme. Coach Stevie Scott stated: "They're both very athletic and mobile, which are important attributes in the modern game."^[2][3][4]

Ben's first try for Edinburgh came during the European Challenge Cup semi-final thrashing of Newport Gwent Dragons in April 2015.^[5]

International career

Although born in Australia, Toolis is eligible to represent Scotland as his mother, Linda, is from Carluke in Lanarkshire.^[5] After a good run of form for his club Toolis was called up to the Scotland squad for the 2015 Six Nations Championship, going on to make his international debut against Italy.^[6] He has subsequently played in two victories for Scotland over the country of his birth.