Ben White (rugby union, born 1998) explained

Ben White
Fullname:Benjamin James White
Birth Date:27 May 1998
Birth Place:Stoke-on-Trent, England
Height:1.780NaN0
Weight:880NaN0
School:Denstone College
Leicester Grammar School
Position:Scrum-half
Currentclub:Toulon
Years1:2015–2021
Clubs1:Leicester Tigers
Apps1:71
Points1:30
Years2:2016–2017
Clubs2:Doncaster Knights (loan)
Apps2:11
Points2:30
Years3:2021–2023
Clubs3:London Irish
Apps3:44
Points3:45
Years4:2023–
Clubs4:Toulon
Apps4:20
Points4:10
Repyears1:2018
Repteam1:England U20
Repcaps1:11
Reppoints1:20
Repyears2:2022–
Repteam2:Scotland
Repcaps2:22
Reppoints2:20
Clubupdate:16 March 2024
Repupdate:16 March 2024

Benjamin James White (born 27 May 1998) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for Top 14 club Toulon. Born in England, he represents Scotland at international level after qualifying on ancestry grounds.[1] [2]

Club career

Leicester Tigers

White made his first senior Tigers appearance aged 17, against Argentina at Welford Road in Marcos Ayerza's testimonial fixture in the build up to the 2015 Rugby World Cup.[3]

White then made his Premiership debut against Harlequins on 25 October 2015; at the age of 17 years and 151 days White became the youngest player to play for Leicester in the Premiership.[4]

White, a member of the Tigers Academy, captained the Tigers U18 Academy League Team, the Premiership 7's team and ultimately captained the Tigers 1st 15 in the Premiership, aged 21.[5] On the 16 June 2021 Leicester Tigers announced his release.[6]

White is also the youngest professional player in Doncaster Knights history having made his debut against London Welsh on 23 April 2016, whilst on loan from Leicester.[7]

London Irish

White joined Premiership Rugby side London Irish ahead of the 2021–22 season.[8]

International career

England U20 and England XV

White, who represented England at U17's, featured for England U18-s in all of their 2016 Six Nations matches in 2016. On 3 January 2018 White was named in England under-20s squad for the 2018 U-20s Six Nations Championship,[9] and he captained England under-20s.[10]

White started for England under-20s in the 2018 Rugby World Cup Final against France, having started the semi-final against South Africa and being involved in every Pool game.

After a breakthrough year for Leicester in 2018-19, White was named in a squad for an uncapped match against the Barbarians.[11]

Scotland

White qualifies for Scotland through having a Scottish grandfather.[12] In January 2022 White was named in the Scotland squad for the 2022 6 Nations Championship.[13] [14] White was named as a replacement for Scotland's opening game of the Six Nations against .[15]

Due to his form with London Irish during the 2022/23 English Premiership, he was selected as starting scrum-half for the Scotland team which won a third consecutive Calcutta Cup and a second away win at Twickenham in the opening round of the 2023 Guinness Six Nations.

In 2023 White was selected in Scotland's 33 player squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.[16]

Personal life

He is currently in a relationship with tennis player Jodie Burrage.[17] [18]

Career statistics

List of international tries

|-|style="text-align:center;"|1|5 February 2022|Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland||style="text-align:center;"|5–3||2022 Six Nations Championship|style="text-align:center;"|[19] |-|style="text-align:center;"|2|5 November 2022|Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland||style="text-align:center;"|26–12||2022 end-of-year rugby union internationals|style="text-align:center;"|[20] |-|style="text-align:center;"|3|4 February 2023|Twickenham Stadium, London, England||style="text-align:center;"|24–20||2023 Six Nations Championship|style="text-align:center;"|[21] |}[22]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Russell 'a fantastic leader' for Scotland - White . en-GB . BBC Sport . 2023-08-05.
  2. Web site: Ben White. ESPN Scrum. 9 February 2017.
  3. Web site: Ben White Leicester Tigers player profile. Leicester Tigers.
  4. Web site: Leicester Tigers boss Richard Cockerill praises club's youngest-ever Premiership player Ben White. Leicester Mercury. 26 October 2015. 9 February 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20151027155752/http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Leicester-Tigers-boss-Richard-Cockerill-praise/story-28055881-detail/story.html. 27 October 2015. dead.
  5. Web site: White leads Tigers on home turf . Leicester Tigers. 22 August 2020.
  6. News: The Leicester Tigers 'Class of 2021'. Leicester Tigers. 16 June 2021. 17 June 2021.
  7. Web site: A few new faces. Doncaster Knights. 9 February 2017.
  8. Web site: 2021-06-24. Ben White pens London Irish deal 24th June 2021 News. 2021-06-24. London Irish. en.
  9. Web site: England U20 Elite Player Squad Announced. Premiership Rugby. 3 January 2018. 7 January 2018.
  10. Web site: Leicester Tigers’ Ben White to Captain England Under 20s. Leicester Mercury. 6 June 2018. 6 June 2018.
  11. Web site: Leicester Tigers duo Will Spencer and Ben White named in England XV squad to face Barbarians. Leicester Mercury. 27 May 2019. 27 May 2019.
  12. News: Bean. Graham. Gregor Townsend flags key role ‘ambassadors’ can play in selling Scotland to the dual-qualified. 23 January 2022. The Scotsman. 5 January 2022.
  13. Web site: Scotland Six Nations squad named and there are five uncapped players. The Scotsman . 19 January 2022. 19 January 2022.
  14. Web site: Gregor Townsend explains surprise selection of former England internationals in Scotland's Six Nations squad. The Scotsman. 19 January 2022. 5 February 2022.
  15. News: Gray back in experienced Scotland team. BBC Sport. 2022-02-03.
  16. Web site: Scotland squad named for Rugby World Cup 2023 . Scottish Rugby Union.
  17. Web site: Scottish Six Nations star is going out with British tennis ace who played at Wimbledon . Parsons . Ben . Daily Star.com . 2023-02-03 . 2023-07-15.
  18. Web site: Ben White: Ten things you should know about the London Irish scrum-half . Rendell . Sarah . Rugby World.com . 2022-02-04 . 2023-05-25.
  19. Web site: SCOTLAND RETAIN THE CALCUTTA CUP WITH TENSE ENGLAND VICTORY . Bennett . Charlie . 5 February 2022 . Six Nations Rugby . 28 June 2023 .
  20. Web site: Scotland battle past spirited Fiji . 5 November 2022 . Autumn Nations Series . 28 June 2023 .
  21. Web site: VAN DER MERWE AT THE DOUBLE IN MEMORABLE SCOTLAND WIN . Edison . Paul . 4 February 2023 . Six Nations Rugby . 28 June 2023 .
  22. Web site: Benjamin James White. 2022-02-07. ESPN scrum.