 Ben Whitehouse | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth name | Ben Whitehouse | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 9 August 1990 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Gowerton, Swansea, Wales | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Gowerton Comprehensive School | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Nigel Whitehouse (father) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Rugby union referee | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ben Whitehouse (born 9 August 1990) is a Welsh rugby union referee. He is currently one of five professional referees at the Welsh Rugby Union, alongside Craig Evans and Adam Jones.
Whitehouse started refereeing at the age of 19, during the 2009/10 European season. [1] Since then, Whitehouse has come through the ranks at the Welsh Rugby Union, refereeing at the Union' top level the Principality Premiership. He was part of the Welsh Rugby Union referees academy in 2013, where in February 2014, he was selected for the 2014 IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy tournament in Hong Kong, which saw him referee the final between Tonga U20 and Japan U20. [2] [3] Later that year, he appeared in his first British and Irish Cup, and was selected by the four home unions to officiate the final between Leinster A and Leeds Carnegie. [4]
On 21 November 2014, he refereed his first professional game, Connacht v Zebre during the 2014–15 Pro12 season. That season, he also made his international debut, refereeing Belgium v Sweden during the 2014–16 European Nations Cup Division 1B season. At the end of that season, Whitehouse signed a professional referee's contract with the WRU on 5 June 2015, just a day before he refereed his first World Rugby Under 20 Championship match, between France U20 and Japan U20. [5]
In the 2015/16 season, he became a regular appointment at Pro12 level, and made his first European appearance, officiating the Edinburgh–Grenoble clash on 13 November 2015 as part of the 2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup. He later made his Champions Cup debut, refereeing Leicester Tigers v Benetton Treviso on 16 January 2016. [6]
On 18 June 2016, Whitehouse had his first World Rugby international appointment, assistant referee for the second and third test of Ireland's tour of South Africa. [7] On 26 November, he took charge of his first World Rugby appointment, refereeing Romania against Uruguay during the 2016 end-of-year rugby union internationals. [8]
On 24 June 2017, he refereed the World Cup Qualifier between the United States and Canada in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. [9]
The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in South Africa, and the BKT United Rugby Championship in the competition's other territories, the split branding mirroring the format previously adopted in Super Rugby. The Championship represents the highest level of domestic club or franchise rugby in each of its constituent countries.
Leinster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial club rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup.
Matthew Rees is a Welsh former professional rugby union footballer who played as a hooker. After beginning his career with Tonyrefail RFC and Merthyr RFC, he made his professional debut for Pontypridd RFC in 2001. With the arrival of regional rugby in Wales in 2003, he joined the Celtic Warriors, but their closure a year later led to him signing for the Llanelli Scarlets. He played more than 180 matches for the Scarlets, captaining them on several occasions, leading to his first Wales call-up in 2005.
Lyn Jones is a former Wales international rugby union player. Originally playing as a flanker, Jones subsequently became a coach. He played most of his playing career for Neath RFC and started his coaching career at the same club. Jones has coached professional clubs in Wales and England and, in 2018, became head coach of the Russian national rugby union team. He subsequently beame a coach with national rugby team of the Netherlands.
Nigel Owens, is a Welsh former international rugby union referee, who retired in December 2020 after a 17-year career. He previously held the world record for the most test matches refereed and is one of five international referees listed as professional within the Welsh Rugby Union, alongside Craig Evans, Adam Jones, Dan Jones and Ben Whitehouse. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest rugby referees of all time.
Frank Murphy is a former professional rugby union player from Ireland who works as a referee for the Irish Rugby Football Union. He primarily played as a scrum-half. Originally from Cork, Murphy played for his native province of Munster before moving to the English side Leicester Tigers.
Kingsley Jones is a Welsh rugby union coach, currently in charge of the Canadian national team. A former Welsh international player, Jones has played and coached at various levels, from playing at the amateur level to the professional level in Wales and England. He since went on to become a professional coach at club and international level.
Daniel Biggar is a Welsh professional rugby union player currently playing for French Top 14 side Toulon as a fly-half. A Wales international, Biggar has also twice been selected to tour with the British and Irish Lions.
Samson Lee is a former Wales international rugby union player. Lee played for the Scarlets, as well as local teams Llanelli and Ammanford. His position is prop forward. Lee has represented Wales, making his debut against Argentina in November 2013.
Jordan Rhys Williams is a Welsh rugby union footballer who plays for the Dragons. His regular position is at full-back, but he has also played at fly-half and on the wing. He began his career with amateur side New Dock Stars RFC, before being signed by Llanelli RFC and ultimately breaking into the Scarlets regional side. However, he struggled to find playing time with the Scarlets and moved to Bristol in 2016, only to return to Wales with the Dragons two years later. He has also played internationally for Wales at under-16, under-18 and under-20 level, as well as for the Wales Sevens team.
Jake Ball is a professional rugby union player who plays as a lock. Ball played over 100 times for the Scarlets regional side in Wales and was capped 50 times for the Wales national rugby union team. In 2021, Ball retired from international rugby to join Green Rockets Tokatsu in Japan.
Pascal Gaüzère is a retired referee from Montfort-en-Chalosse in France who represented the French Rugby Federation at international level in refereeing. He officiated at the highest level from 2006 to 2021, refereeing matches in the club tournaments, Top 14, Pro12, Challenge Cup, and Heineken Cup.
Mathieu Raynal is a professional rugby union referee. He officiates at the highest level in the Top 14, European club rugby, and is on the World Rugby referee panel.
Tomos Geraint Williams is a Welsh professional rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for United Rugby Championship club Cardiff and the Wales national team.
Luke Pearce is an English rugby union referee representing the Rugby Football Union. He is a regular referee in the English Premiership and has refereed games at European level and at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Alexandre Ruiz is a professional rugby union referee who represents the French Rugby Federation. He is a regular appointment at Top 14 and has recently joined the top level of European Rugby.
Mike Adamson is a former Scotland 7s international rugby union player and now referee. His primary playing position was at fly-half. Adamson played professionally for Glasgow Warriors and London Scottish and at amateur level for Glasgow Hawks. Adamson is now a SRU referee for the Pro14, European Professional Club Rugby and World Rugby.
Andrew Brace is a rugby union referee and former player. Born in Cardiff, Wales, Brace represents the Irish Rugby Football Union as a referee, and was an international player for Belgium. He has refereed matches in the Pro14, the European Rugby Challenge Cup and the European Rugby Champions Cup. In 2017 he began refereeing test matches. He has been married to his childhood sweetheart for over 10 years, Amanda Brace. He describes his relationship as ‘the best thing that’s ever happened to him, second only to refereeing.’
The 2020–21 PRO14 was the twentieth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It was the fourth season to be referred to as the PRO14.
Craig Evans is a Welsh rugby referee. He has been a member of Wales' professional rugby union ranks since 2015.