Ben Cima

Last updated

Ben Cima
Date of birth (1996-03-20) March 20, 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight189 lb (86 kg)
School Gonzaga College
University University of Maryland
Notable relative(s)Matias Cima (brother)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fly-Half
Amateur team(s)
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2015–2017 Rocky Gorge ()
Senior career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2018 San Diego Legion 7 (15)
2018 New England Free Jacks 1 (4)
2019– Seattle Seawolves 28 (57)
2019 Viadana ()
2020 Ohio Aviators 1 (6)
Correct as of 13 November 2024
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2014–2016 United States U20 8 (88)
2016–2017 USA Selects 6 (40)
2017– United States 10 (42)
Correct as of 25 December 2020

Benjamin Cima (born March 20, 1996) is an American rugby union player who plays fly-half for the United States men's national team. Cima also plays for the Seattle Seawolves in Major League Rugby (MLR).

Contents

Cima formerly played club rugby for Rocky Gorge and also played at the international level for the United States men's national under-20 team and the USA Selects.

Early life

Ben Cima was born in Argentina, [1] the son of former La Salle rugby player, Marcelo Cima. [2] At the age of seven, Cima moved to the United States. [3] Cima was named an All-American in rugby during each of his final three years in high school, and in 2014 led Gonzaga College to its first national championship in rugby at the High School National Invitational tournament. [4]

Club career

Following his high school graduation, Cima played rugby at the University of Maryland, where he was a teammate to his older brother, Matias. [1] Cima played senior level club rugby for Rocky Gorge [5] in Columbia, Maryland. In January 2018, Cima signed with the San Diego Legion to play in Major League Rugby's inaugural season. [6] Cima currently plays for the Seattle Seawolves. [7]

International career

USA Junior All-Americans

Cima made his debut in international play with the United States men's national under-20 team (Junior All-Americans) in 2014 and played at the 2014 Junior World Rugby Trophy. [5] Cima also represented the United States at the 2016 Junior World Rugby Trophy. [5] From his tenure with the Junior All-Americans, Cima is best-known [5] for kicking a game winning penalty goal, from beyond 50 meters in the eightieth minute of play, in a victory over Canada in a 2016 Junior World Rugby Trophy qualifying match. [8]

USA Selects

In late 2016, Cima made his debut with the USA Selects in the 2016 World Rugby Americas Pacific Challenge. [5] He also represented the United States in the 2017 World Rugby Americas Pacific Challenge, scoring in a defeat to Samoa, [9] and in victories over Uruguay [10] and Canada. [11]

USA Eagles

Cima made his debut with the USA Eagles on February 4, 2017, starting at fly-half in the Eagles' 29–23 victory over Uruguay in the Americas Rugby Championship. [12] Cima scored three penalty goals and one conversion in his debut. [13]

Related Research Articles

Tai Enosa is an American rugby union player who plays fly-half for the Seattle Seawolves in Major League Rugby (MLR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Durutalo</span> American rugby union player

Andrew Durutalo is a Fijian-raised American-born professional rugby player who plays for the Seattle Seawolves of Major League Rugby (MLR). He has been capped by the U.S. national sevens team and the United States national rugby union team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cam Dolan</span> American rugby union player

Cameron Dolan is an American rugby union player who normally plays at the Number 8 position. He currently plays professionally for the NOLA Gold, since 2018, in the Major League Rugby (MLR). Dolan previously played rugby outside the United States at professional level.

Olive Onelani Kilifi is an American rugby union player, who plays prop for the United States national rugby union team and for the Seattle Seawolves of Major League Rugby (MLR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jake Ilnicki</span> Canadian rugby union player

Jake Ilnicki is a Canadian rugby union prop who plays international rugby for Canada and professional club rugby for Old Glory DC in Major League Rugby (MLR). He has also played for the New South Wales Country Eagles in Australia's National Rugby Championship and for the Seattle Seawolves in MLR.

The 2016 Americas Rugby Championship was the first series of the Americas Rugby Championship, a new annual western hemisphere rugby union championship. It was contested by Argentina XV, Canada, United States, Uruguay, Brazil, and Chile. All matches will be full international test matches with caps awarded, including for Argentina XV players and their opponents, but Argentina XV matches will not count to World Rankings for either team.

Nate Augspurger is an American rugby union player from Minneapolis, Minnesota who plays scrum-half for the Chicago Hounds of Major League Rugby (MLR).

The 2017 Americas Rugby Championship was the second series of the Americas Rugby Championship, which is the top elite tournament for the Americas nations. It was contested by Argentina XV, Canada, United States, Uruguay, Brazil, and Chile. All matches were full international test matches with caps awarded, except those involving Argentina XV.

Hanco Jacobus Germishuys is a South African born American rugby union player who plays as a flanker for the Houston SaberCats in Major League Rugby (MLR) and for the United States national rugby union team internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psalm Wooching</span> American rugby union player (b. 1994)

Psalm Fa'afoisia Pulemagafa Wooching is an American rugby union player who plays for the United States men's national team. He formerly played for the San Diego Legion in the Major League Rugby (MLR).

Nate Brakeley is an American former professional rugby union player who played lock and flanker for Rugby New York (Ironworkers) of Major League Rugby (MLR) and for the United States men's national team. Brakeley also played for the New York Athletic Club.

Peter Malcolm is an American rugby union player who plays hooker for the Seattle Seawolves in Major League Rugby (MLR) and the United States men's national team.

Dylan Audsley is an American rugby union player who plays center and fullback for the San Diego Legion in Major League Rugby (MLR) and the United States men's national team.

Ruben Pieter de Haas is a rugby union player who plays scrum-half for the United States men's national team. He previously played for Saracens in the English Premiership and currently for the Cheetahs in the SA Currie Cup and the 2024-25 EPCR Challenge Cup in Europe.

Nakai Penny is a Canadian rugby union player who plays for Seattle Seawolves in Major League Rugby (MLR). His usual position is flanker.

Vili Tolutaʻu is an American rugby union player who plays as a forward for the New England Free Jacks in Major League Rugby (MLR). He also represents America playing for the United States men's national team.

Devereaux St Bruno Ferris is a New Zealand-born, American rugby union player who plays at scrum-half for the Seattle Seawolves in Major League Rugby (MLR). He also represents America as a member of the United States men's national team and USA Selects.

David Faimafiliotamaʻitaʻi Ainuʻu is a rugby union player who plays as a prop for Toulouse in France's Top14 and for the United States men's national team. Ainuʻu has also represented the United States with multiple age-grade sides—including the United States national under-20 rugby union team.

Nicklas Swain Boyer is an American rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for the San Diego Legion of Major League Rugby (MLR) and the United States men's national team.

References

  1. 1 2 Janes, Chelsea (July 12, 2014). "Ben Cima leads USA Rugby all-American team to Argentina before studying at Maryland". The Washington Post . Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  2. ↑ Campana, Martín Ignacio (February 18, 2016). "Ben Cima, un argentino que hace ruido en Estados Unidos" [Ben Cima, an Argentinian who makes noise in the United States]. ESPN Deportes (in Spanish). ESPN . Retrieved March 31, 2018. Ambos son hijos de Marcelo Cima, ex jugador de La Salle... (trans.: Both [Ben and Matías] are sons of Marcelo Cima, a former player for La Salle...)
  3. ↑ "Foreign-Born Players in 2018 Americas Rugby Championship". Americas Rugby News. February 2, 2018. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  4. ↑ Janes, Chelsea (May 20, 2014). "Gonzaga rugby caps unbeaten season with first national championship". The Washington Post . Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Benjamin Cima". USA Rugby. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Ben Cima signs for San Diego Legion". Americas Rugby News. January 24, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  7. ↑ "USA Eagle Ben Cima Ready To Soar With Seattle Seawolves". www.seattleseawolves.com. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  8. ↑ Hipolito, Chad (February 14, 2016). "Canada falls to U.S. at Americas Rugby Championship, will miss U20 Trophy". The Globe and Mail . Austin, Texas. Canadian Press . Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Samoa overwhelm 14-man USA". Americas Rugby News. October 7, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  10. ↑ "USA defeat Uruguay in back-and-forth thriller". Americas Rugby News. October 11, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  11. ↑ "USA fend off Canada in Montevideo". Americas Rugby News. October 15, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  12. ↑ "USA fight back to Secure Victory over Uruguay". Americas Rugby News. February 4, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  13. ↑ "San Antonio hosts first test, Eagles win in Americas Rugby Championship". USA Rugby. February 4, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.