Benjamin Garcia

Benjamin Garcia (born 5 April 1993) is a French professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward and centre and for the Catalans Dragons in the Super League. He is a French international.

For the chemist, see Benjamin A. Garcia. For the American track and field athlete, see Benjamin Garcia (athlete).

Ben Garcia
Personal information
Full nameBenjamin Garcia
Born (1993-04-05) 5 April 1993
Apt, Vaucluse, France[1]
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight15 st 6 lb (98 kg)[2]
Playing information
PositionSecond-row, Prop, Centre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2013–15 Catalans Dragons 48 10 0 0 40
2016 Penrith Panthers 0 0 0 0 0
2016– Catalans Dragons 81 14 0 0 56
Total 129 24 0 0 96
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2013–17 France 10 2 0 0 8
As of 20 September 2019
Source: [3][4]

He spent time with the Penrith Panthers as part of their squad during the 2016 NRL season.

Background

He was born in Apt, Vaucluse, France.

Playing career

A SO Avignon junior and French junior international representative, Garcia moved to Australia to play for the Wynnum Manly Seagulls in the FOGS Colts Challenge in 2012.[5] After winning the Seagulls' FOGS Colts player of the year award,[6] Garcia moved into the Brisbane Broncos' National Youth Competition squad in 2013. In June 2013, he moved to the Catalans Dragons mid-season on a two-year contract,[7] making his Super League debut against the Leeds Rhinos on 31 August 2013.

On 10 June 2015, Garcia signed a 2-year contract with the Penrith Panthers of the National Rugby League, starting in 2016.[8][9] Garcia was named in the Panthers' squad for the 2016 Auckland Nines, scoring a try in their match against the North Queensland Cowboys.[10] He rejoined the Dragons in June 2016.[11]

He played in the 2018 Challenge Cup Final victory over the Warrington Wolves at Wembley Stadium.[12]

International career

On 24 October 2012, Garcia was called into France's train-on squad for the 2012 Autumn International Series.[13] Following injuries to Clément Soubeyras and Mathias Pala, Garcia was called into France's squad for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup.[14][15] He made his international debut on 27 October 2013 and played in three of France's Group B matches.

Garcia played for France in all three of their matches at the 2014 European Cup. He was unavailable for selection for the 2015 European Cup.[16] Garcia played in France's lone international fixture of 2016, an end of year test match against England.

References
  1. "Penrith Panthers sign Frenchman Ben Garcia from Catalans Dragons". Daily Telegraph. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  2. "Catalans Dragons Equipe Saison 2015" (in French). catalansdragons.com. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  3. Rugby League Project
  4. Love Rugby League
  5. Ricketts, Steve (9 March 2012). "Wynnum-Manly Seagulls have added a French connection to their books for the 2012 Intrust Super Cup". Courier-Mail. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  6. "Presentation Night 2012". WynnumSeagulls.com.au. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  7. "Benjamin Garcia: Brisbane Broncos forward joins Catalans". BBC. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  8. "Panthers sign Quartet of Young Guns – Panthers". penrithpanthers.com.au. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  9. "Catalan (sic) Dragons forward Benjamin Garcia to join Penrith Panthers in NRL". Sky Sports. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  10. Kennedy, Chris (7 February 2016). "Cowboys muscle up to deny Panthers". NRL.com. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  11. Reynolds, Ben (23 June 2016). "Catalans Dragons re-sign Ben Garcia from Penrith Panthers". Sky Sports. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  12. "Catalans Dragons beat Warrington in Challenge Cup final to make history". Guardian. 25 August 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  13. "Teenager Garcia called into French train-on squad". NRL.com. 24 October 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  14. "Catalans dominate France World Cup squad". Sydney Morning Herald. 8 October 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  15. "Benjamin Garcia named in France squad". catalansdragons.com. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  16. "Agar names France's 23-man squad". Rugby League European Federation. 1 October 2015. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016. Ben Garcia is unavailable as he heads to Australia to start his new career.
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