Benjamin Arthur Earl (born 7 January 1998) is an English professional

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who plays as a

flanker Flanker may refer to: * Flanker (perfume), a newly created perfume sharing attributes of an existing one * Flanker (rugby union), a position in rugby union (not found in rugby league) * ''Su-27 Flanker'' (video game), a 1996 computer game modelin ...

for

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby ...

club

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

and the

England national team Team England usually refers to the name under which athletes representing Commonwealth Games England compete. England team or Team England may refer to: *Commonwealth Games England *England national football team *England cricket team *England nat ...

Early life

Earl's mother,

Belinda Earl Belinda Jane Earl (born 20 December 1961) is a British businesswoman, and a non-executive director of Woolworths Holdings Limited (RSA) in addition is a senior advisor to NewtonEurope as well as other retail advisory and mentor positions. She ...

, worked as a retail industry

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

and his father as a solicitor. Earl attended

The New Beacon The New Beacon Preparatory School is an independent all-boys Preparatory school (UK), preparatory school, located at Sevenoaks in the English county of Kent. It admits both day students and boarding school, boarders aged between 4 and 13. The sc ...

and

Tonbridge School Tonbridge School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for boys aged 13–18) in Tonbridge, Kent, England, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judde (sometimes spelt Judd). It is a member of the Eton Group and has clo ...

. At school level, Earl played much more

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

than rugby; he was an

all-rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are cons ...

and played for

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

until he was 15. He also was a serious competitive swimmer until he was 13. Earl has said he was overweight until age 17. He studied comparative literature at

Queen Mary University Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University of London. Today, ...

Club career

Earl started his playing career at

Sevenoaks RFC Sevenoaks Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union club based in Sevenoaks, Kent. The club ground is on Plymouth Drive to the east of the town centre. The first XV team currently plays in National League 2 East, having reached the national l ...

and came through the Saracens academy. He has stated that he prefers the freedom of playing

, but also plays Number 8. In November 2016 Earl made his club debut against

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

in the

Anglo-Welsh Cup The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...

and the following season he scored a try on his first Premiership start against

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an England, English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played i ...

. He started for the Saracens side that lost to

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The club plays in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby union. It was formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. ...

in the 2019

Premiership Rugby Cup The Premiership Rugby Cup is an English rugby union knockout cup competition for teams in Premiership Rugby and from the 2023–24 season the RFU Championship. It was created in 2018 to replace the Anglo-Welsh Cup after the withdrawal of the Wels ...

final. 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 Bristol Bears (officially Bristol Rugby Club or Bristol Rugby) are a professional rugby union club based in Bristol, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded as Bristol Football Club in 18 ...

on a season-long loan along with teammate Max Malins. During his loan spell, he started for Bristol in the final of the

EPCR Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...

as they defeated

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

to win their first ever European trophy. On his return to Saracens, Earl scored a hat-trick in their semi-final victory over Harlequins and then started in the 2022 league final which they lost against

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...

to finish runners up. His performances during the campaign led to him being named Player of the Season. The following season Earl helped Saracens win the Premiership, starting in the 2023 final as they defeated

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England, United Kingdom. Its team play in Premiership Rugby, and have been in England's top division of rugby union continuously since 1995. Originally founded in 1861 as ...

to regain their league title. In May 2024, following an impressive season, Earl was named in the Premiership Rugby Team of the Season for the 2023–24 campaign.

International career

Earl represented England at under-16 and under-18 level. He was a member of the England under-20 team that completed a grand slam during the

2017 Six Nations Under 20s Championship The 2017 Six Nations Under 20s Championship, was the 10th series of the Six Nations Under 20s Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Wales were the defending champions. The competition was won by England, who complet ...

and scored a try during the opening round against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He was selected for the

2017 World Rugby Under 20 Championship The 2017 World Rugby Under 20 Championship was the tenth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised in Georgia by rugby's governing body, World Rugby. Twelve nations played in the tournament, ...

and scored a try in the final as England finished runners up to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The following year Earl captained the team as they finished runners up in the

2018 Six Nations Under 20s Championship The 2018 Six Nations Under 20s Championship, was the 11th series of the Six Nations Under 20s Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. England were the defending champions. Participants Table Fixtures Round 1 ...

and he scored a try in the final round against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. In May 2018, Earl received his first call-up by coach Eddie Jones to the senior squad for their

tour of South Africa The Tour of South Africa was a stage cycling race in South Africa that was only held once, in 2011. It was part of UCI Africa Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by ...

and he was subsequently selected for the

2019 Six Nations Championship The 2019 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 20th Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England national rugby union team, England ...

. Earl was called up again for the

2020 Six Nations Championship The 2020 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 21st Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England national rugby union team, England ...

and on 8 February 2020 made his Test debut off the bench as a replacement for Sam Underhill against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen, Saughtonhall and Roseburn. The A8 road (Scotland), A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murra ...

. He subsequently played in the final round of the tournament as England won away against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

to win the competition. Later that year, Earl came off the bench as England defeated

in extra-time to win the

Autumn Nations Cup The Autumn Nations Cup was a rugby union competition held in November and December 2020 in place of the usual Autumn rugby union internationals, Autumn internationals series typically held in the same period each year, as many teams were avoidin ...

. Earl was included in the squad for the

2023 Rugby World Cup The 2023 Rugby World Cup () was the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national rugby union teams. It took place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the country. The opening game ...

. He started in their quarter-final victory over

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

and semi-final elimination against champions

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. In their last game of the tournament, Earl scored his first try at international level as England defeated

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

to finish third with the bronze medal. Earl was retained for the

2024 Six Nations Championship The 2024 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Men's Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was a rugby union competition that took place in February and March 2024, and featured the men's national teams of England national rugby union tea ...

and scored tries in home victories against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and

. He made a total of 73 carries throughout the competition, more than any other player in that campaign and the most by any Englishman since the 2016 tournament. These performances led to his inclusion in the Team of the Championship. Earl was also nominated for Player of the Championship, with that accolade ultimately awarded to Tommaso Menoncello. At the end of the season, Earl was voted by his teammates as the England Men's Player of the Year at the 2024 RPA Awards.

Career statistics

List of international tries

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Stade de France Stade de France (, ) is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the List of football stadiums in France, largest stadium i ...

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Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium (; usually known as Twickenham, and for sponsorship purposes known as the Allianz Stadium Twickenham) is a rugby union stadium in Twickenham, London, England. It is owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the English rugby u ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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National Stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

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2025 Six Nations Championship The 2025 Men's Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Men's Six Nations for sponsorship reasons and branded as M6N) was a rugby union competition that took place from late January to mid-March 2025, featuring the men's national teams of E ...

, -

Honours

; England * 1× Six Nations winner:

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

* 1×

winner:

* 1×

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

third place:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

; Saracens * 3x

winner: 2017–18, 2018–19,

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

* 1x Premiership Rugby runner-up: 2021–22 * 1×

runner-up: 2018–19 ; Bristol Bears * 1×

European Rugby Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...

winner: 2019–20 ; Individual * 1× Six Nations Team of the Championship:

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

* 1× Six Nations Player of the Championship nominee:

* 1× Premiership Rugby Player of the Season: 2021–22 * 4× Premiership Rugby Team of the Season: 2019–20, 2021–22,

, 2023–24

References

External links

Ben Earl
at England Rugby * {{DEFAULTSORT:Earl, Ben 1998 births Living people Bristol Bears players England international rugby union players English rugby union players Alumni of Queen Mary University of London People educated at Tonbridge School Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights Rugby union players from Redhill, Surrey Saracens F.C. players 2023 Rugby World Cup players 21st-century English sportsmen