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 and France at international level.
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Full name | Benjamin Garcia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Apt, Vaucluse, France[1] | 5 April 1993|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 15 st 6 lb (98 kg)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Position | Second-row, Prop, Centre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 28 December 2020 |
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
- "Penrith Panthers sign Frenchman Ben Garcia from Catalans Dragons". Daily Telegraph. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
- "Catalans Dragons Equipe Saison 2015" (in French). catalansdragons.com. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
- Rugby League Project
- Love Rugby League
- 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.
- "Presentation Night 2012". WynnumSeagulls.com.au. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
- "Benjamin Garcia: Brisbane Broncos forward joins Catalans". BBC. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- "Panthers sign Quartet of Young Guns – Panthers". penrithpanthers.com.au. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- "Catalan (sic) Dragons forward Benjamin Garcia to join Penrith Panthers in NRL". Sky Sports. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
- Kennedy, Chris (7 February 2016). "Cowboys muscle up to deny Panthers". NRL.com. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
- Reynolds, Ben (23 June 2016). "Catalans Dragons re-sign Ben Garcia from Penrith Panthers". Sky Sports. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
- "Catalans Dragons beat Warrington in Challenge Cup final to make history". Guardian. 25 August 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
- "Teenager Garcia called into French train-on squad". NRL.com. 24 October 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
- "Catalans dominate France World Cup squad". Sydney Morning Herald. 8 October 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
- "Benjamin Garcia named in France squad". catalansdragons.com. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
- "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.