Rugby player
| Full name | Benjamin John Willis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | (1976-10-08) 8 October 1976 (age 48) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 187 lb (85 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | King's College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Benjamin John Willis (born 8 October 1976) is a New Zealand former professional rugby union player.
Biography
Born in Auckland, Willis is a descendant of novelist Jane Austen and was educated at King's College.
Rugby career
Willis, a NZ Colts halfback, appeared once for the Chiefs in the 1999 Super 12 season. He left New Zealand rugby after the 2000 season to continue his career in Europe, starting with a stint at Grenoble, then signing with Leinster. Qualifying through an Irish grandfather, Willis was an Ireland "A" representative player during his time at Leinster, before moving on to Harlequins in 2003. He was in the New Zealand Barbarians team that played England at Twickenham in 2003 and had a season with AS Beziers in 2004–05. Following his time in France, Willis competed for London Irish from 2005 to 2007, at the end of which he linked up with Saracens as Heineken Cup injury cover.
References
- "Exiles snap up Flutey and Willis". BBC News. 26 May 2005.
- "London Irish Swoop For Willis". Irish Rugby. 27 May 2005.
- "Falcons on Barbarians' bench". Evening Chronicle. 19 December 2003.
- "Willis registered as Saracens cover". ESPNscrum. 13 December 2007.
External links
- Ben Willis at ESPNscrum
- 1976 births
- Living people
- New Zealand rugby union players
- Irish rugby union players
- New Zealand people of Irish descent
- Rugby union players from Auckland
- Rugby union scrum-halves
- Chiefs (Super Rugby) players
- Auckland rugby union players
- Waikato rugby union players
- FC Grenoble Rugby players
- Leinster Rugby players
- Harlequin F.C. players
- AS Béziers Hérault players
- London Irish players
- Saracens F.C. players
- New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in England
- New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in Ireland
- New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in France
- People educated at King's College, Auckland