Benjamin Garcia (born 5 April 1993) is a French professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward and centre for the Catalans Dragons in the Super League and France at international level.
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Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Benjamin Garcia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 5 April 1993 Apt, Vaucluse, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 15 st 6 lb (98 kg)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Lock, Second-row, Hooker | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 30 October 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
He spent time with the Penrith Panthers as part of their squad during the 2016 NRL season.
Background
editHe was born in Apt, Vaucluse, France. He is of Spanish and Algerian descent.
Playing career
editA 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 two-year contract with Penrith of the National Rugby League, starting in 2016.[8][9] Garcia was named in Penrith's 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]
On 9 October 2021, Garcia played for Catalans in their 2021 Super League Grand Final defeat against St. Helens.[13] On 14 October, Garcia played in Catalans 2023 Super League Grand Final loss against Wigan.[14]
International career
editOn 24 October 2012, Garcia was called into France's train-on squad for the 2012 Autumn International Series.[15] Following injuries to Clément Soubeyras and Mathias Pala, Garcia was called into France's squad for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup.[16][17] 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.[18] Garcia played in France's lone international fixture of 2016, an end of year test match against England.
References
edit- ^ "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. 11 June 2016. 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.
- ^ "Super League Grand Final: Catalans Dragons 10-12 St Helens: Saints win three in a row". BBC Sport.
- ^ Bower, Aaron (14 October 2023). "Wigan Warriors crowned Super League champions after downing Dragons". The Observer.
- ^ "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.
External links
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