Ben Earl

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Ben Earl
Full nameBenjamin Arthur Earl
Date of birth (1998-01-07) 7 January 1998 (age 27)
Place of birth Redhill, England
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) [1]
Weight107 kg (236 lb; 16 st 12 lb) [1]
School Tonbridge School
University Queen Mary University of London
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker, Number 8
Current team Saracens
Senior career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2016– Saracens 135 (195)
2020–2021 → Bristol Bears (loan) 22 (55)
Correct as of 9 March 2025
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2016 England U18 5 (10)
2017–2018 England U20 9 (20)
2020– England 41 (30)
Correct as of 9 March 2025

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.

Contents

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]

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]

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]

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. [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]

Career statistics

List of international tries

as of 9 March 2025 [32]

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
127 October 2023 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 8–026–23 2023 Rugby World Cup
210 February 2024 Twickenham Stadium, London, England Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales 5–716–14 2024 Six Nations Championship
39 March 2024Twickenham Stadium, London, EnglandIRFU flag.svg  Ireland 18–1723–22
422 June 2024 National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 38–352–17 2024 Summer International
524 November 2024Twickenham Stadium, London, England5–059–14 2024 Autumn International
69 March 2025Twickenham Stadium, London, EnglandFlag of Italy.svg  Italy 47–2447–24 2025 Six Nations Championship

Honours

England
Saracens
Bristol Bears
Individual

References

  1. 1 2 "Ben Earl player profile". www.englandrugby.com. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  2. ↑ Walsh, David (31 January 2021). "Latin 'fan', chess addict...and he can play rugby a bit too" . The Times . Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 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.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Mockford, Sarah (9 July 2018). "Hotshot: Saracens and England U20 back-row Ben Earl". Rugby World . Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  5. ↑ "Ben Earl signs new contract at Saracens". Premiership Rugby. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  6. 1 2 Baber, Andy (13 June 2018). "Rising Stars:Ben Earl". Premiership Rugby. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  7. 1 2 "Premiership Rugby Cup Final: Northampton beat Saracens with three first-half tries". BBC Sport. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  8. 1 2 "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.
  9. 1 2 Garry, Tom (16 October 2020). "European Challenge Cup final: Bristol Bears 32-19 Toulon". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  10. ↑ Pilnick, Brent (11 June 2022). "Premiership semi-final: Saracens 34-17 Harlequins - Ben Earl hat-trick helps Sarries dismantle Quins". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  11. 1 2 Aloia, Andrew (18 June 2022). "Premiership final: Leicester Tigers 15-12 Saracens - Freddie Burns drop-goal clinches title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  12. 1 2 "Ben Earl: Saracens flanker wins Premiership Player of the Season Award". Sky Sports. 8 June 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  13. 1 2 Hurcom, Sophie (27 May 2023). "Premiership final: Saracens 35-25 Sale - Sarries win sixth title in Twickenham thriller". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  14. 1 2 "Premiership Rugby Team of the Season 2023/34". Premiership Rugby. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  15. ↑ "England U20s crush France 59-17 in Six Nations opener". Sky Sports. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  16. ↑ "World Under-20 Championship final: England 17-64 New Zealand". BBC Sport. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  17. ↑ O'Sullivan, John (16 March 2018). "England flood through as Ireland run out of steam and bodies". The Irish Times. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  18. ↑ Jones, Chris (20 January 2020). "Six Nations 2020: England call up eight uncapped players". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  19. 1 2 Grey, Becky (31 October 2020). "Italy 5-34 England: Visitors' victory proves enough to win Six Nations title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  20. 1 2 Henson, Mike (6 December 2020). "Autumn Nations Cup: England beat France in sudden death". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  21. ↑ "England World Cup squad: Henry Slade & Alex Dombrandt miss out, Joe Marchant & Theo Dan in". BBC Sport. 7 August 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  22. ↑ Grey, Becky (15 October 2023). "England 30-24 Fiji: Owen Farrell's boot seals Rugby World Cup semi-final spot". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  23. ↑ Henson, Mike (22 October 2023). "England 15-16 South Africa: Springboks fightback settles World Cup semi-final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  24. 1 2 Henson, Mike (27 October 2023). "Argentina 23-26 England: England overcome Pumas to win Rugby World Cup bronze-medal match". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  25. ↑ Mann, Mantej (10 February 2024). "Six Nations 2024: England 16-14 Wales - hosts fight back to edge to victory". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  26. ↑ Mann, Mantej (9 March 2024). "England 23-22 Ireland: Marcus Smith's last-gasp drop-goal hands England thrilling win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  27. ↑ "Rugby Pass Top100 Players". RugbyPass. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  28. 1 2 "Ben Earl named in Six Nations Team of the Tournament". Saracens F.C. 5 April 2024. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  29. 1 2 "Ben Earl nominated for Six Nations Player of the Championship". Saracens F.C. 19 March 2024. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  30. ↑ "Six Nations 2024: Italy's Tommaso Menoncello named player of men's championship". BBC Sport. 5 April 2024. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  31. ↑ "The RPA Awards 2024: Winners - Rugby Players Association". Rugby Players' Association. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  32. ↑ "Ben EARL profile and stats". all.rugby. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
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