Ben Betts (born 28 August 1996) is an Irish

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player for

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

in the

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...

, the second division of English rugby union. During his rugby career, Betts, a

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

, has also played for English clubs

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

, Loughborough Students,

Ealing Trailfinders Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club is an English professional rugby union club based in West London. The club's first team are the current champions of the RFU Championship but will remain in that league due to ineligibility for promotion to Premi ...

, and

Doncaster Knights Doncaster Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club representing the town of Doncaster, England. The first XV are known as the "Doncaster Knights", and play in the RFU Championship. Being the most promoted side in English history has led to ...

, as well as spending time on loan in Australia with

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

. Internationally, Betts represented his native Ireland at under-20 level.

Early life

Born in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

, Betts went to school at

Tarbert Tarbert ( gd, An Tairbeart) is a place name in Scotland and Ireland. Places named Tarbert are characterised by a narrow strip of land, or isthmus. This can be where two lochs nearly meet, or a causeway out to an island. Etymology All placenames ...

Comprehensive school in

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

. He first began playing rugby for Estuary RFC in

Shanagolden, County Limerick Shanagolden () is a small village located in County Limerick, Ireland. The village is on the R521 regional road between Foynes and Newcastlewest, around 35 km west of Limerick City. It is situated west of the 'Golden Vale', an area of fertile a ...

but, after a year with the club, he then moved to

Young Munster Young Munster is a rugby union club based in Limerick, Ireland, playing in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League. It was founded in 1895 and plays its games at Tom Clifford Park in Rosbrien, Limerick. Club honours have included nine wins in th ...

. He represented Munster at youth, under-19 and under-20 level, whilst also representing Ireland at under-18 clubs, under-19 and under-20 level.

Career

Betts was named in the

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

squad for the

2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship The 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship was the ninth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised in England by rugby's governing body, World Rugby. Twelve nations took part in the tournamen ...

but, despite featuring strongly in Ireland's run to the final, he was not offered a professional contract by the

IRFU The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) ( ga, Cumann Rugbaí na hÉireann) is the body managing rugby union in the island of Ireland (both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ...

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

. Instead, Betts moved across the Irish sea to

. Betts made his Leicester debut on 28 January 2017, coming off the bench in the 2016–17 Anglo-Welsh Cup against

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

at Welford Road. He spent the season on a dual-registration deal with Loughborough Students in

National League 1 National One (last season known as National League 1 and previously known before September 2009 as National Division Two), is the third of three national leagues in the domestic rugby union competition of England. It was known as Courage Leagu ...

, before spending a summer loan spell with

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. In April 2018,

, who compete in the

, announced that Betts would be joining them from the 2018–19 season. Betts joined another English side,

, on loan for the 2019–20 season, before leaving Ealing on a permanent basis to join fellow Championship side

ahead of the 2020–21 season. However, Betts was released from his contract by Doncaster in July 2020 after he decided to retire from playing rugby to focus on interests outside of rugby. Despite this Betts re-joined Nottingham in March 2021 as the club assembled a squad for the COVID-19-delayed 2020–21 RFU Championship.

References

External links

Leicester Tigers ProfileU20 Six Nations Profile
1996 births Living people Rugby union players from County Limerick Irish rugby union players Young Munster players Leicester Tigers players Loughborough Students RUFC players Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club players Nottingham R.F.C. players Doncaster Knights players Rugby union props Sydney University RFC players {{ireland-rugbyunion-bio-stub