Ben Westwood

Ben Westwood (born 25 July 1981) is an English former rugby league footballer who played as a second-row or loose forward in the Betfred Super League. He played for England at international level, and also represented England Knights and Yorkshire.

Ben Westwood
Personal information
Born (1981-07-25) 25 July 1981
Normanton, West Yorkshire, England
Playing information
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[1]
Weight16 st 5 lb (104 kg)[2]
PositionSecond-row, Loose forward
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1999–02 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 41 10 1 0 42
2002–19 Warrington Wolves 446 128 83 0 678
Total 487 138 84 0 720
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2002 Yorkshire 1 0 0 0 0
2011 England Knights 1 0 1 0 2
2004–13 England 27 3 5 0 22
Source: [3][4][5][6]

He started his professional career with the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats in the Super League before moving to the Warrington Wolves in 2002. He made over 400 appearances during his 18 years at the club, and was part of Warrington's 2009, 2010 and 2012 Challenge Cup winning teams.

Background

Westwood was born in Normanton, West Yorkshire, England.

Playing career

Early career

He began his career at local team Normanton Knights, before being scouted for Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats

Westwood spent three seasons with Wakefield Trinity Wildcats between 1999 and 2002.

Warrington Wolves

In June 2002, Westwood was transferred to Warrington Wolves for a fee of £60,000.[7]

A talismanic player for Warrington who has been top tackler at the club for the past two seasons and top tackler out of marker for the past three, Westwood was Warrington's Players' Player of the Year and Fans' Player of the Year in 2007. A conversion from the centres to the pack at the start of 2005 transformed his career and pushed him to international honours.

He was named in the Super League Dream Team for 2008's Super League XIII.[8]

Westwood played in the 2010 Challenge Cup Final victory over the Leeds Rhinos at Wembley Stadium.[9][10]

He also enjoyed a good year in 2011 despite injuries, when the Wire topped the league table.

He played in the 2012 Challenge Cup Final victory over the Leeds Rhinos at Wembley Stadium.[11][12][13][14]

He played in the 2012 Super League Grand Final defeat by the Leeds Rhinos at Old Trafford.[15][12]

He played in the 2013 Super League Grand Final defeat by the Wigan Warriors at Old Trafford.[16][17][18][19][20]

He played in the 2016 Challenge Cup Final defeat by Hull F.C. at Wembley Stadium.[21][22]

He played in the 2018 Challenge Cup Final defeat by the Catalans Dragons at Wembley Stadium,[23] and played in the 2018 Super League Grand Final defeat by the Wigan Warriors at Old Trafford.[24]

In July 2019, Westwood announced he would be retiring at the end of the season.[25]

Representative career
Westwood in action for England against New Zealand at the 2008 Rugby League World Cup

He was a substitute for Yorkshire against Lancashire in the second game of the expanded County of Origin series in 2002.[26]

He won a call up to the Great Britain standby squad for the 2006 Tri-Nations.

In September 2008 he was named in the England training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup,[27] and in October 2008 he was named in the final 24-man England squad.[28]

In 2011 Westwood has established himself within the elite England squad and featured in all of England's 2011 Four Nations matches. The tournament earned him the reputation of a hard-working and aggressive back-rower who thrives on intensity.

He was named in the England squad for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup.

References
  1. "Ben Westwood". englandrl.co.uk. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  2. "Our England Our Team England Rugby League - The Official Website". web page. The Rugby Football League Limited. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  3. "Player Summary: Ben Westwood". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  4. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  5. "England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  6. "Super Bennie Westwood agrees new deal with the Wolves". Warrington Worldwide. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  7. "Westwood signed until end of 2004". Warrington Guardian. 7 June 2002. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  8. "2008 engage Super League Dream Team". Super League. 15 September 2008. Archived from the original on 18 September 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2008.
  9. Scott, Ged (28 August 2010). "Leeds 6–30 Warrington". BBC. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  10. Wilson, Andy (28 August 2010). "Chris Hicks hat-trick leads Warrington to Challenge Cup triumph over Leeds". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 31 August 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  11. "Warrington's battered Brett Hodgson recovers to see off Leeds in final". Guardian UK. 25 August 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  12. "Leeds' Kevin Sinfield stars in Grand Final triumph against Warrington". Guardian. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  13. "Leeds Rhinos 18–35 Warrington Wolves". BBC Sport. 25 August 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  14. "Warrington Wolves Are Challenge Cup Winners 2012!". Warrington Wolves Official Site. 25 August 2012. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  15. "Grand Final: Warrington 18-26 Leeds". BBC Sport. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  16. "Super League Grand Final". Super League. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  17. Newsum, Matt (5 October 2013). "Super League Grand Final: Wigan Warriors beat Warrington". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  18. "Super League Grand Final: Warrington v Wigan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  19. "Warrington Wolves 16 Wigan Warriors 30". Daily Telegraph. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  20. "Wigan see off Warrington in X-rated Grand Final to complete double". Guardian. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  21. "Hull FC's Jamie Shaul's late try takes Challenge Cup away from Warrington". Guardian. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  22. "Challenge Cup final: Hull FC 12-10 Warrington Wolves". BBC. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  23. "Catalans Dragons beat Warrington in Challenge Cup final to make history". Guardian. 25 August 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  24. "Super League Grand Final 2018: Wigan 12-4 Warrington – as it happened". Guardian. 13 October 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  25. "Ben Westwood: Warrington Wolves forward to retire at end of 2019 season". BBC Sport. 31 July 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  26. "A timeline of Ben Westwood's highlights in a Warrington Wolves shirt". Warrington Guardian. 17 August 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  27. "Myler gets England call". England Rugby League. 29 September 2008. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2008.
  28. "Purdham earns World Cup call-up". BBC. 7 October 2008. Archived from the original on 9 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
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