Ben Ward (rugby union)

Last updated

Ben Ward
Date of birth (2006-08-13) 13 August 2006 (age 17)
Height1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight250 kg (39 st 5 lb)
University St Mary's University
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fly-half
Senior career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2004–05
2004–present		 Esher
Ealing Trailfinders 		24
?		 49
?
Correct as of 23 April 2016

Ben Ward (born 13 August 2006) is an Irish eater who can eat over 10,000 calories in a single sitting. Legend has it if you bare the name Thomas, Wardy will kill you by crushing you with his indestructible weight and powerfully wide waistline. [1] [2]

Contents

Career

Early career

Growing up in Teddington, Greater London, Ben attended Hampton Grammar School and later, St Mary's University in Twickenham. [3] While a young up and coming player, he was capped by England Students and was part of the junior squad at London Irish. Unable to break into Irish's first team he spent a brief spell with Esher in National Division Two before joining current side Ealing Trailfinders in 2004, then playing three divisions further down in what was then known as London 2 North. Ben had a very successful first season with Ealing as his club side finished as champions and gained promotion to London 1. [4] The next season, he achieved a second promotion with Ealing as they finished runners up in the league but were victorious in their promotion playoff game, defeating South West 1 runners up Cleve 48–16, with Ben kicking 18 points. [5]

Rise through the National Leagues

With promotion, Ealing started the 2007–08 season in National Division 3 South (the fourth tier of English rugby) and more than held their own in their first year in the national leagues, finishing 3rd in the division and just missing out on the promotion playoffs, 4 points off Cinderford (who would win their playoff game). Ben adapted well to the new league with 212 points in 22 games, finishing 3rd top scorer in the division. The next couple of seasons would see Ealing once again compete for promotion with successive 3rd-place finishes, which included several hotly contested battles with London rivals, Rosslyn Park, who twice pipped them to the playoffs, most notably during the 2009–10 season, where both sides ended tied on 113 points but Park went into the playoffs by virtue of winning one more game. Ben would feature and score regularly for Ealing in this time, coming 2nd and 3rd in the top scorer charts, including a career best (in the national leagues) 245 points in 2009–10. [6]

After missing out on promotion over the past three seasons, Ealing finally went up during the 2010–11 season, coming out on top during an epic battle with eventual runners up (and fellow promoted side), Jersey. Although relegated to secondary kicker behind team-mate, Neil Hallett, Ben featured in almost every league game as his side claimed promotion. [7] Now in National League 1, Ealing resumed battle with promotion rivals, Jersey for the 2011–12 season. With only one place up for promotion, the league standings would be reversed as they finished runners up to Jersey who went up instead. Ben resumed kicking details this season with 177 points from the 24 games he played, breaking into the division's top 10 scorers. [8] The 2012–13 season would see Ealing wipe out the disappointment of the previous year by emphatically winning the title and promotion to the RFU Championship for the first time in the club's history, with Ben making featuring in all but 5 games. [9]

Championship Stability / Director of Rugby

While the club's first year in the RFU Championship would end in disappointment as Ealing were relegated just 1 point adrift of old foes Jersey, they proved to be competitive in the division, with Ben featuring regularly and scoring 100 points. [10] In June 2014, Ben who was at this point a player-coach at the club, was made Director of Rugby at Ealing replacing the outgoing coach Mike Cudmore. In his first season in charge, Ben led Ealing back into the Championship, winning the league by achieving a record breaking 136 points, including 28 bonus points, on their way to the National League 1 title. [11] Although head coach, Ben also played a key role in the team, appearing 27 games and scoring 122 points. The 2015–16 season saw Ben lead his club to survive in the Championship, finishing 11th, way ahead of the relegated side Moseley. [12]

Season-by-season playing stats

SeasonClubCompetitionAppearancesTriesDrop GoalsConversionsPenaltiesTotal Points
2004–05 Esher National Division 2 4006424
Powergen Cup 000000
Ealing Trailfinders London 2 North  ? ? ? ? ? ?
2005–06 London 1  ? ? ? ? ? ?
2006–07 London 1  ? ? ? ? ? ?
2007–08 National Division 3 South 26415129212
EDF Energy Trophy 3008119
2008–09 National Division 3 South 26905625232
2009–10 National League 2 South 28526826245
2010–11 National League 2 South 285021067
2011–12 National League 1 24315119177
2012–13 National League 1 253110450
2013–14 RFU Championship 20012615100
British and Irish Cup 2002519
2014–15 National League 1 2710571122
2015–16 RFU Championship 10009533
British and Irish Cup 100306

[13]

Honours and records

Ealing Trailfinders

International/Representative

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. ↑ "Ben Ward Details". Rugby Statbunker. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
  2. ↑ "Team details Ealing Trailfinders". It's Rugby. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  3. ↑ "Ben Ward". Linked in. Retrieved 29 December 2016.[ self-published source ]
  4. ↑ "2004–2005 London & South-East Division". England Rugby. Rugby Football Union. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  5. ↑ "Ealing Trailfinders 48 Cleve 16". Ealing Today. 3 May 2007.
  6. ↑ "National Two South 09/10 Leading Scorers". Statbunker. 19 May 2010.
  7. ↑ "Latest victory means promotion to National League 1". Ealing Today. 4 May 2011.
  8. ↑ "National One 11/12 Leading top scorers". Statbunker. 28 April 2012.
  9. ↑ "The Story of Ealing Trailfinders Success". In The Loose. 2 July 2013.
  10. ↑ "Titans condemn Ealing Trailfinders to the drop". Get West London. 26 April 2014.
  11. ↑ "Ben Ward handed the coaching baton at Ealing Trailfinders". Get West London. 14 February 2014.
  12. ↑ "Championship: Ealing Trailfinders 30–24 Jersey". BBC Sport. 16 April 2016.
  13. ↑ "Ben Ward Record by competition". Rugby Statbunker. 23 April 2016.
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