Ben Flower

Last updated

Ben Flower
Ben Flower Wigan.jpg
Personal information
Full nameBenjamin Thomas Flower [1]
Born (1987-10-19) 19 October 1987 (age 37)
Cardiff, Wales
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight17 st 2 lb (109 kg) [2]
Playing information
Rugby union
Club
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
Newport Gwent Dragons 00000
2008 Bedwas RFC 00000
2021 Pontypool RFC 00000
Total00000
Rugby league
Position Prop, Loose forward
Club
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
2008–11 Crusaders RL 6670028
2010(loan)→ S Wales Scorpions 41004
2012–20 Wigan Warriors 184210084
2021 Leigh Centurions 50000
Total2592900116
Representative
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
2008–13 Wales 171004
Source: [3] [4]
As of 28 Sep 2021

Ben Flower (born 19 October 1987) is a Welsh professional former rugby league footballer who last played as a prop for the Leigh Centurions in the Super League, and has played for Wales at international level.

Contents

He previously played as a second-row and loose forward for Crusaders Rugby League in the Super League, and spent time away from Crusaders RL on loan at the South Wales Scorpions in Championship 1. Flower also spent 9 seasons at the Wigan Warriors in the top flight. [3] [4]

He punched Lance Hohaia in the face twice in the second minute of the Super League Grand Final in 2014, including once while Hohaia was lying on the ground, which led to a six-month ban. [5] [6]

Background

Flower was born in Cardiff, Wales.

Playing career

Early career and Crusaders

An under-17 international when at Cardiff Demons, Flower also played for Wales in rugby union at under 18, under 19 and under 20 level. He was signed by the Crusaders from Welsh Premiership rugby union side Bedwas RFC, having also played for regional side Newport Gwent Dragons.

Flower playing for Crusaders RL in 2009 Ben Flower.JPG
Flower playing for Crusaders RL in 2009

Flower progressed as a professional rugby league footballer throughout 2007, starting in Crusaders Colts before becoming a regular in the Crusaders first team and winning his first full Welsh cap in 2008. He played for Crusaders in their first Super League season in 2009, and remained with the club until their departure from the league in 2011, after which he signed for Wigan Warriors.

In 2010, Flower was loaned from Crusaders to South Wales Scorpions of Championship 1, and made four appearances for the club, scoring one try.

Wigan Warriors

2012

Flower made 18 appearances in his first season with Wigan.

2013

In 2013, he established himself as a first-choice player and was a member of the team that won the 2013 Challenge Cup Final with victory over Hull F.C. at Wembley Stadium. [7] [8] [9]

He played in the 2013 Super League Grand Final victory over the Warrington Wolves at Old Trafford. [10] [11] [12] [13] [5]

Lance Hohaia incident

On 11 October 2014 Flower became the first player to be sent off in a Super League Grand Final after being shown a red card in the second minute of the match for twice punching Lance Hohaia of St Helens in the face, including once while Hohaia was lying on the ground. [14] [15] Wigan went on to lose the match after playing with a man down for 78 minutes. [15] Flower was subsequently given a six-month ban by the RFL disciplinary committee, the longest in the competition's history for an on-field act. [6] Hohaia retired from rugby league on 29 April 2015, citing recurrent concussion symptoms as the reason. [16] [17] [18] [19] [20]

2015

Flower made his comeback against Warrington Wolves on 16 April. He was wished well ahead of his return by Lance Hohaia. [21] He went on to make 19 appearances scoring four tries.

He played in the 2015 Super League Grand Final defeat by the Leeds Rhinos at Old Trafford. [22]

2016

In early February he signed a new four-year deal running till the end of 2020 despite interest from other Super League and NRL clubs. [23] His 27 appearances across the season saw him score three tries.

He played in the 2016 Super League Grand Final victory over the Warrington Wolves at Old Trafford. [24]

2017

Flower helped Wigan win a fourth World Club Challenge in the 22-6 victory over Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. He made a good start to the season before after 13 appearances he suffered an Achilles tendon injury ending his season. [25]

2018

He played in the 2018 Super League Grand Final victory over the Warrington Wolves at Old Trafford. [26]

2019

Flower played 18 games for Wigan in 2019 including their shock semi-final loss against Salford. [27]

2020

Flower played only nine games for Wigan in the 2020 season. In the semi-final victory over Hull F.C., Flower was taken from the field in the second half with a leg injury. He was later ruled out of the 2020 Super League Grand Final. [28] It was announced on 30 November 2020 that Flower would join Leigh Centurions for the 2021 season [29]

2021

Flower retired from rugby league and signed for Welsh rugby union club Pontypool RFC in the Welsh Championship 2021. [30]

International career

Flower made his Wales début against England while at Celtic Crusaders in 2008. [4]

He represented Wales in the 2010 European Cup, and the 2011 Rugby League Four Nations, and was named in the squad for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup. [31]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Leuluai</span> New Zealand international rugby league footballer

Thomas James Leuluai is a New Zealand professional rugby league coach who is the assistant coach of the Wigan Warriors in the Super League and a former professional rugby league footballer who played for New Zealand at international level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Monaghan</span> Australia international rugby league footballer

Joel Monaghan is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Castleford Tigers in the Super League. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative centre or winger, he previously played in the NRL for the Canberra Raiders and the Sydney Roosters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Clubb</span> England international rugby league footballer

Tony Clubb is a former English professional rugby league footballer who played as a prop for the Wigan Warriors in the Super League and has played for England at international level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lance Hohaia</span> New Zealand rugby league footballer

Lance Koro Hohaia, also known by the nickname of "The Huntly Hurricane", is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer. A New Zealand international representative utility back, he played in the NRL for the New Zealand Warriors and the Super League for St Helens, with whom he won the 2014 Super League championship. In 2008 Hohaia was a member of the World Cup winning New Zealand team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook</span> Ireland & England international rugby league footballer

Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook is a former rugby league footballer who last played as a prop, second-row or loose forward for St Helens in the Betfred Super League. He has played for both England and Ireland at international level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matty Smith (rugby league)</span> England international rugby league footballer

Mathew Joe Smith is an English rugby league coach and former player, who will be the head coach of Wigan Warriors' academy from 2025. He began coaching in 2023 for St Helens in a dual role as women's head coach and men's assistant coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taulima Tautai</span> Australian rugby league footballer

Taulima Tautai born 3 April 1988 is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, who has most recently played as a prop for the Wigan Warriors in the Super League. He previously played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Parramatta Eels and the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blake Green</span> Australian rugby league footballer

Blake Green is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a five-eighth and halfback in the 2000s, 2010s and 2020s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gil Dudson</span> Wales international rugby league footballer

Gil Dudson is a Welsh professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for Oldham RLFC in the RFL Championship and Wales at international level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Gelling</span> Cook Islands international rugby league footballer

Anthony Gelling is a Cook Islands international rugby league footballer who plays as a centre, winger and second-row forward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyle Amor</span> Ireland international rugby league footballer

Kyle Amor is a TV broadcaster with Sky Sports and is a former Ireland international rugby league footballer who played most of his career with St Helens. Amor last played as a prop for the Widnes Vikings in the Championship for 10 games during the 2023 season before retiring mid-season in May 2023. Outside of Rugby League, Kyle is also an ambassador for Ortus Energy, a leading U.K. Solar company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Hill (rugby league)</span> Great Britain and England international rugby league footballer

Christopher Andrew Hill is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Salford Red Devils in the Super League, and England and Great Britain at international level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Charnley</span> England dual code international rugby footballer

Joshua Charnley is an English international professional rugby league footballer who plays on the wing for the Leigh Leopards in the Super League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Walmsley</span> GB & England international rugby league footballer

Alex Walmsley is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for St Helens in the Super League, and England and Great Britain at international level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dom Crosby</span> English former rugby league footballer

Dominic Crosby is a former rugby league footballer who last played as a prop for the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Powell</span> English professional rugby league footballer

Sam Powell is an English rugby league footballer who plays as a scrum-half or hooker for the Warrington Wolves in the Super League and the England Knights at international level.

The 2014 Super League Grand Final was the 17th official Grand Final and conclusive and deciding match of Super League XIX. It was held on Saturday 11 October 2014, at Old Trafford, Manchester with a 6pm kick-off time. The game was played between the top two teams from the regular season, St Helens RLFC and Wigan Warriors.

The 2014 St Helens R.F.C. season is the club's 140th in its history; its 119th in rugby league. The Saints will be looking to end a 6-year silverware drought this season by competing for the Super League XIX title as well as the 113th edition of the Challenge Cup. This season marks Australian Nathan Brown's second season as head coach of the club, continuing from his first season in 2013 which ended in a 5th-place finish and an early playoff exit courtesy of an 11–10 defeat at Leeds Rhinos. They began their season by taking on last seasons runner-up Warrington Wolves at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, which ended in an 8–38 win for Saints. This win sent Saints on a win streak that lasted for eight Super League games before being defeated on 18 April 2014 by arch-rivals Wigan Warriors at Langtree Park in the annual Good Friday derby match. Easter was a period to forget for the Saints as they were beaten by Widnes Vikings for their second league defeat in a row, following the Good Friday defeat to bitter rivals Wigan, and then by Leeds Rhinos in Round 5 of the Challenge Cup meaning the Saints will miss out on the trophy for a sixth year. The Saints bounced back however on 1 May with a 48–18 win over the London Broncos. Saints suffered another Magic Weekend to the Warrington Wolves on 18 May with the game ending 41–24 to the Wolves. Results picked up after the Magic Weekend with two straight wins at home against Huddersfield & Salford however the Saints then traveled to Perpignan where they suffered a humiliating 42–0 loss to the Catalans Dragons. Once again, the Saints bounced back with an impressive win over Castleford Tigers at Langtree Park and with another outstanding performance in a pulsating game at the DW Stadium against arch-rivals Wigan Warriors that ended 12–16 in favour of the Saints; the win avenging the Good Friday defeat at Langtree Park. Following this win, Saints suffered a shock 40–10 defeat to Hull Kingston Rovers but bounced back with three straight wins before losing to Hull KR's cross-town rivals, Hull FC, 19–12. However, a 40–16 win over Wakefield Trinity Wildcats & an extremely tight 12–13 win over Leeds Rhinos at Headingley put the Saints in a position where a win against Warrington on 4 September would hand them their first League Leaders' Shield since the 2008 season; with Castleford Tigers being the only other team in contention for the top spot. Despite losing their last two games of the regular season, Saints acquired the League Leaders' Shield following Castleford's failure to beat Catalans Dragons in their last game of the season; meaning that the Saints took their first piece of silverware since 2008. The unlikely success of the 2014 season culminated in a 14–6 win over arch-rivals Wigan Warriors in the 2014 Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford making Saints the Super League champions for the first time since 2006 in an extremely lively, well-fought contest that saw Wigan player Ben Flower sent off for a sucker punch on a defenceless Lance Hohaia in the 2nd minute of the game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Burgess</span> England international rugby league footballer

Joe Burgess is an English rugby league footballer who plays as a winger for Hull KR in the Super League, and England at international level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luke Thompson (rugby league)</span> Great Britain and England international rugby league footballer

Luke Thompson is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as prop and loose forward for the Wigan Warriors in the Super League, and for England and Great Britain at international level.

References

  1. ↑ Companies House
  2. ↑ "Crusaders Rugby League". web page. Crusaders Rugby League Club. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Profile at loverugbyleague.com". loverugbyleague.com. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Wigan see off Warrington in X-rated Grand Final to complete double". The Guardian. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  6. 1 2 "Ben Flower: Wigan prop banned for Lance Hohaia punch". BBC Sport. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  7. ↑ "Hull FC 0-16 Wigan Warriors". BBC Sport. 24 August 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  8. ↑ "Wigan Warriors overcome Hull FC and elements to win Challenge Cup". The Guardian. 24 August 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  9. ↑ "Wigan Warriors grind out victory over Hull". Sky Sports. 24 August 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  10. ↑ "Super League Grand Final". Super League. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  11. ↑ Newsum, Matt (5 October 2013). "Super League Grand Final: Wigan Warriors beat Warrington". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  12. ↑ "Super League Grand Final: Warrington v Wigan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  13. ↑ "Warrington Wolves 16 Wigan Warriors 30". The Daily Telegraph. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  14. ↑ "Super League Grand Final: St Helens v Wigan Warriors as it happened". BBC Sport.
  15. 1 2 Andy Wilson (11 October 2014). "Wigan's Ben Flower hammered for Super League Grand Final punches". The Guardian.
  16. ↑ "Lance Hohaia retires due to health concerns". SkySports. Sky Sports. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  17. ↑ Kieran Fox (29 April 2015). "Lance Hohaia retires because of 'recurrent concussion symptoms". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  18. ↑ "St Helens 14 Wigan Warriors 6: Moment of madness from Wales international Ben Flower costs Wigan dear". The Daily Telegraph. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  19. ↑ "St Helens win Grand Final after Wigan's Ben Flower is sent off". The Guardian. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  20. ↑ "St Helens 14–6 Wigan Warriors". BBC Sport. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  21. ↑ "St Helens star Lance Hohaia wishes Ben Flower 'all the best' ahead of prop's comeback". wigantoday.net. Archived from the original on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  22. ↑ "Leeds pip Wigan to seal treble after brilliant, breathless Grand Final". The Guardian. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  23. ↑ "Flower stays loyal to Warriors". wigantoday.net. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  24. ↑ "Warrington 6-12 Wigan: Super League Grand Final – as it happened!". The Guardian. 8 October 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  25. ↑ "Body blow for Escare". wigantoday.net. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  26. ↑ "Super League Grand Final 2018: Wigan 12-4 Warrington – as it happened". The Guardian. 13 October 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  27. ↑ "Salford seal maiden Super League Grand Final appearance". www.skysports.com.
  28. ↑ "Wigan Warriors front-rower to miss Super League Grand Final against St Helens". www.skysports.com.
  29. ↑ "Ben Flower: Wigan Warriors prop forward joins Championship side Leigh Centurions". BBC Sport. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  30. ↑ "Ben Flower: Retired Wales rugby league prop switches codes to join Pontypool". BBC Sport. 27 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  31. ↑ "Crusaders dominate Wales' squad". BBC. 3 October 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
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.