| Ben Earl | |
| Fullname: | Benjamin Arthur Earl |
| Birth Date: | 7 January 1998 |
| Birth Place: | Redhill, England |
| Height: | 1.830NaN0[1] |
| Weight: | 1070NaN0 |
| School: | Tonbridge School |
| University: | Queen Mary University of London |
| Position: | Flanker, Number 8 |
| Currentclub: | Saracens |
| Years1: | 2016– |
| Clubs1: | Saracens |
| Apps1: | 128 |
| Points1: | 175 |
| Years2: | 2020–2021 |
| Clubs2: | → Bristol Bears (loan) |
| Apps2: | 22 |
| Points2: | 55 |
| Repyears1: | 2016 |
| Repteam1: | England U18 |
| Repcaps1: | 4 |
| Reppoints1: | 0 |
| Repyears2: | 2017–2018 |
| Repteam2: | England U20 |
| Repcaps2: | 9 |
| Reppoints2: | 20 |
| Repyears3: | 2020– |
| Repteam3: | England |
| Repcaps3: | 35 |
| Reppoints3: | 25 |
| Clubupdate: | 24 November 2024 |
| Repupdate: | 24 November 2024 |
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.
Earl's mother 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] He has said he was overweight until age 17.[4] He studied comparative literature at Queen Mary University.[3]
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]
He helped Saracens win the Premiership title in 2023, starting in the final as Saracens defeated Sale Sharks.[10]
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.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13]
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] [14] He subsequently played in the final round of the tournament as England won away against Italy to win the competition.[15] Later that year, Earl came off the bench as England defeated France in extra-time to win the Autumn Nations Cup.[16]
[17] |- |style="text-align:center;"| 1| 27 October 2023| Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France| |style="text-align:center;"| 8–0|style="background:#CCF9CC; text-align:center"| 26–23| 2023 Rugby World Cup|- |style="text-align:center;"| 2| 10 February 2024| Twickenham Stadium, London, England| |style="text-align:center;"| 5–7|style="background:#CCF9CC; text-align:center"| 16–14|rowspan="2"| 2024 Six Nations Championship|- |style="text-align:center;"| 3| 9 March 2024| Twickenham Stadium, London, England| |style="text-align:center;"| 18–17|style="background:#CCF9CC; text-align:center"| 23–22|- |style="text-align:center;"| 4| 22 June 2024| National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan|rowspan="2"| |style="text-align:center;"| 38–3|style="background:#CCF9CC; text-align:center"| 52–17| 2024 Summer International|- |style="text-align:center;"| 5| 24 November 2024| Twickenham Stadium, London, England|style="text-align:center;"| 5–0|style="background:#CCF9CC; text-align:center"| 59–14| 2024 Autumn International|- |}