Ben Flower

Ben Flower (born 19 October 1987) is a Welsh professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Leigh Centurions in the Betfred Super League, and has played for Wales at international level.

For the baseball player, see Ben Flowers.

Ben Flower
Personal information
Born (1987-10-19) 19 October 1987
Cardiff, Wales
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight17 st 2 lb (109 kg)[1]
Playing information
PositionProp, Loose forward
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2008–11 Crusaders RL 53 3 0 0 12
2010(loan) → S Wales Scorpions 4 1 0 0 4
2012–20 Wigan Warriors 184 21 0 0 84
2021– Leigh Centurions 0 0 0 0 0
Total 241 25 0 0 100
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2008–13 Wales 17 1 0 0 4
As of 16 December 2020
Source: [2][3]

He previously played as a second-row and loose forward for Crusaders Rugby League in the Super League, and spent time away from Crusaders RL on loan at the South Wales Scorpions in Championship 1. Flower also spent 9 seasons at the Wigan Warriors in the top flight.[2][3]

He notoriously punched Lance Hohaia in the face twice in the second minute of the Super League Grand Final in 2014 and faced a six-month ban.[4][5]

Background

Flower was born in Cardiff, Wales.

Playing career

Early career and Crusaders

An under-17 international when at Cardiff Demons, Flower also played for Wales in rugby union at under 18, under 19 and under 20 level. He was signed by the Crusaders from Welsh Premiership rugby union side Bedwas RFC, having also played for regional side Newport Gwent Dragons.

Flower playing for Crusaders RL in 2009

Flower progressed as a professional rugby league footballer throughout 2007, starting in Crusaders Colts before becoming a regular in the Crusaders first team and winning his first full Welsh cap in 2008. He played for Crusaders in their first Super League season in 2009, and remained with the club until their departure from the league in 2011, after which he signed for Wigan Warriors.

In 2010, Flower was loaned from Crusaders to South Wales Scorpions of Championship 1, and made four appearances for the club, scoring one try.

2012

Flower made 18 appearances in his first season with Wigan.

2013

In 2013 he established himself as a first-choice player and was a member of the team that won the 2013 Challenge Cup Final with victory over Hull F.C. at Wembley Stadium.[6][7][8]

He played in the 2013 Super League Grand Final victory over the Warrington Wolves at Old Trafford.[9][10][11][12][4]

Lance Hohaia incident

On 11 October 2014 Flower became the first player to be sent off in a Super League Grand Final after being shown a red card in the second minute of the match for twice punching Lance Hohaia of St Helens, once while Hohaia was lying on the ground unconscious.[13][14] Wigan went on to lose the match after playing with a man down for 78 minutes.[14] Flower was subsequently given a six-month ban by the RFL disciplinary committee, the longest in the competition's history for an on-field act.[5] Hohaia retired from rugby league on 29 April 2015, citing recurrent concussion symptoms as the reason.[15][16][17][18][19]

2015

Flower made his comeback against Warrington Wolves on 16 April. He was wished well ahead of his return by Lance Hohaia.[20] He went on to make 19 appearances scoring four tries.

He played in the 2015 Super League Grand Final defeat by the Leeds Rhinos at Old Trafford.[21]

2016

In early February he signed a new four-year deal running till the end of 2020 despite interest from other Super League and NRL clubs.[22] His 27 appearances across the season saw him score three tries.

He played in the 2016 Super League Grand Final victory over the Warrington Wolves at Old Trafford.[23]

2017

Flower helped Wigan win a fourth World Club Challenge in the 22-6 victory over Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. He made a good start to the season before after 13 appearances he suffered an Achilles tendon injury ending his season.[24]

2018

He played in the 2018 Super League Grand Final victory over the Warrington Wolves at Old Trafford.[25]

2019

Flower played 18 games for Wigan in 2019 including their shock semi-final loss against Salford.[26]

2020

Flower played only nine games for Wigan in the 2020 season. In the semi-final victory over Hull F.C., Flower was taken from the field in the second half with a leg injury. He was later ruled out of the 2020 Super League Grand Final.[27]

Leigh Centurions

It was announced on 30 November 2020 that Flower would join Leigh Centurions for the 2021 season[28]

International career

Flower made his Wales début against England while at Celtic Crusaders in 2008.[3]

He represented Wales in the 2010 European Cup, and the 2011 Rugby League Four Nations, and was named in the squad for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup.[29]

References
  1. "Crusaders Rugby League". web page. Crusaders Rugby League Club. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  2. "Profile at loverugbyleague.com". loverugbyleague.com. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  3. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. "Wigan see off Warrington in X-rated Grand Final to complete double". The Guardian. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  5. "Ben Flower: Wigan prop banned for Lance Hohaia punch". BBC Sport. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  6. "Hull FC 0-16 Wigan Warriors". BBC Sport. 24 August 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  7. "Wigan Warriors overcome Hull FC and elements to win Challenge Cup". The Guardian. 24 August 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  8. "Wigan Warriors grind out victory over Hull". Sky Sports. 24 August 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  9. "Super League Grand Final". Super League. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  10. Newsum, Matt (5 October 2013). "Super League Grand Final: Wigan Warriors beat Warrington". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  11. "Super League Grand Final: Warrington v Wigan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  12. "Warrington Wolves 16 Wigan Warriors 30". The Daily Telegraph. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  13. "Super League Grand Final: St Helens v Wigan Warriors as it happened". BBC Sport.
  14. Andy Wilson. "Wigan's Ben Flower hammered for Super League Grand Final punches". The Guardian.
  15. "Lance Hohaia retires due to health concerns". SkySports. Sky Sports. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  16. Kieran Fox (29 April 2015). "Lance Hohaia retires because of 'recurrent concussion symptoms". Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  17. "St Helens 14 Wigan Warriors 6: Moment of madness from Wales international Ben Flower costs Wigan dear". The Daily Telegraph. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  18. "St Helens win Grand Final after Wigan's Ben Flower is sent off". The Guardian. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  19. "St Helens 14–6 Wigan Warriors". BBC Sport. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  20. "St Helens star Lance Hohaia wishes Ben Flower 'all the best' ahead of prop's comeback". wigantoday.net. Archived from the original on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  21. "Leeds pip Wigan to seal treble after brilliant, breathless Grand Final". The Guardian. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  22. "Flower stays loyal to Warriors". wigantoday.net. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  23. "Warrington 6-12 Wigan: Super League Grand Final – as it happened!". The Guardian. 8 October 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  24. "Body blow for Escare". wigantoday.net. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  25. "Super League Grand Final 2018: Wigan 12-4 Warrington – as it happened". The Guardian. 13 October 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  26. "Salford seal maiden Super League Grand Final appearance". www.skysports.com.
  27. "Wigan Warriors front-rower to miss Super League Grand Final against St Helens". www.skysports.com.
  28. "Ben Flower: Wigan Warriors prop forward joins Championship side Leigh Centurions". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  29. "Crusaders dominate Wales' squad". BBC. 3 October 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
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