Birth name | Benjamin Edimesumbe Loader [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | [2] | 8 November 1998||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Reading, England [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 92 kg (14 st 7 lb; 203 lb) [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Benjamin Edimesumbe Loader (born 8 November 1998) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a wing for the Stormers in the United Rugby Championship. He will join Premiership Rugby side Gloucester ahead of the 2025–26 season. [3]
Loader began playing rugby at local club Reading Abbey. [4] At the age of fifteen he joined the academy of London Irish and on 14 October 2017 made his professional debut in a EPCR Challenge Cup game against Edinburgh. [4] [5]
Loader represented England during the 2018 Six Nations Under 20s Championship and scored a try in the last round against Ireland. [6] Later that year Loader was a member of the squad that finished runners up at the 2018 World Rugby Under 20 Championship. [7] On 2 June 2019 he made an appearance for an England XV side in a non-cap friendly against the Barbarians at Twickenham Stadium. [8] [9]
In May 2022 Loader came off the bench as London Irish were defeated by Worcester Warriors in the final of the Premiership Rugby Cup. [10] The following year saw Loader depart the club after they encountered financial issues and in June 2023 it was confirmed that he had joined Stormers. [11]
In February 2025, Premiership side Gloucester announced they had signed Loader from the Stormers ahead of the following season. [3]
Born in England, Loader is of Cameroonian descent through his mother. [12] He was educated at Reading School and Wellington College. His younger brother, Danny Namaso, is a professional footballer. [4] [13]