Ben MacDougall
Ben MacDougall (born 25 May 1977) is an Australian former professional rugby footballer of the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. After playing rugby league in Australia for the Western Suburbs Magpies, Newcastle Knights, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and Melbourne Storm, he started playing rugby union in the United Kingdom, and represented Scotland internationally.
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Benjamin MacDougall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | 25 May 1977|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 193 cm (6 ft 4 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 92 kg (14 st 7 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby league | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Centre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Outside Back | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] |
Background
Born in Sydney, New South Wales, Ben MacDougall has three siblings, Adam MacDougall, Luke MacDougall and Scott MacDougall, all three of whom would also become rugby league players.
Playing career
MacDougall made his first grade debut for Western Suburbs in round 6 of the 1998 NRL season against South Sydney which ended in a 41–10 loss. MacDougall only played three matches that year for Wests as the club finished with the wooden spoon.
In 2000, he joined Newcastle before signing with the Northern Eagles. MacDougall played in the Northern Eagles final game as a club in round 26 of the 2002 NRL season where they lost 68–28 against Penrith. After the licence reverted to Manly in 2003, MacDougall played in their first game back in the competition, a 20–30 loss against North Queensland at Dairy Farmers Stadium. He later had a stint with Melbourne in 2004.
He played rugby union in Scotland for three years from 2004 to 2007, representing the Scotland national rugby union team. MacDougall qualified for Scotland through his grandfather, Alan, who came from Glasgow. MacDougall was targeted by Matt Williams, the former Scotland coach in 2004. Williams did not rate Scotland's centre's and, having failed to persuade MacDougall's older brother Adam, a rugby league international, he recruited Ben.[2] He made his Scotland debut against Wales on 12 February 2006 in a 2006 Six Nations Championship match at the Millennium Stadium.
MacDougall joined Edinburgh Rugby in 2004 and in 2006 moved to the Border Reivers.[2] MacDougall joined London Scottish in the 2010/10 season and helped them win the RFU National One trophy and get promoted into the RFU The Championship for the 2011/2012 season.
Before departing for Scotland in 2005, MacDougall played for the Western Suburbs Magpies, the Newcastle Knights, the Northern Eagles, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League.
Career highlights
- First Grade Debut: 1998 - Round 6, Western Suburbs vs South Sydney Rabbitohs at Aussie Stadium, 19 April
- International Debut (RU): 2006 - Scotland vs Wales at Cardiff, 12 February, losing 28–18 in the Six Nations Championship
Footnotes
- Rugby League Project
- David Ferguson (10 February 2006). "Aussie league convert to make Scotland debut". ABC News. Retrieved 16 December 2007.