Ben Nutley (born 7 April 1992) is an English

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 RFU Championship side Coventry RFC. He began his career at hometown club Luton RFC before joining Saints' Academy in 2010. He plays as a Flanker or a Lock.

Club career

Nutley was born in

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

and began his rugby career at Luton RFC after giving up a promising football career as a goalkeeper with Luton Town FC's youth team. Before the start of the 2010–11 season, he secured a one-year contract with Northampton Saints academy. He was a regular with the Wanderers (Northampton Saints "A" Team), including captaining them. He made his 1st Team debut on 7 November 2010, away to

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

in the

LV= Cup The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...

, the first of three appearances that season. He made his

Aviva Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

debut against

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

in the club’s opening fixture of the 2011–12 season and became a regular in the team including four

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

appearances. Competing for a place in a team that featured a number of internationals (not least

Phil Dowson Phil Dowson (born 1 October 1981) is director of rugby at Northampton Saints. He is a former English rugby union player. He played for Worcester Warriors, Northampton Saints and Newcastle Falcons in the Aviva Premiership. Dowson's position of ...

and Tom Wood), Nutley managed to win ten 1st Team appearances in 2012–13 while captaining the Wanderers to a second successive

Aviva A League The Premiership Rugby Shield was launched in 2003 as the Premiership Rugby A League. It runs parallel to the Premiership Rugby seasons. Split into north and south pools, it comprises twelve sides. The clubs select players from their academy and ...

semi-final. Most recently stepping out with the Saints' second team side the Northampton Wanderers, Nutley helped the side lift the Aviva 'A' League trophy as they beat Gloucester United in the final at Franklin's Gardens. Ben's twin brother, Tom, plays with National League 1 club

Blaydon Blaydon is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, and historically in County Durham. Blaydon, and neighbouring Winlaton, which Blaydon is now contiguous with, form the postal town of Blaydon-on-Tyne. The Blay ...

International career

Nutley was selected to play for England Under 19s in 2010–11. He scored a try on his debut in a 13–31 victory over Ireland in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

on 31 December 2010. He went on to the England Under 20s in 2011–12. He played in the Under 20s Six Nations, making his first appearance in the 7–42 win over Italy in

Rovigo Rovigo (, ; egl, Ruig) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of Northeast Italy, the capital of the eponymous province. Geography Rovigo stands on the low ground known as Polesine, by rail southwest of Venice and south-southwest of P ...

on 3 March 2012. He took part in the Junior World Championship, appearing against South Africa, Ireland (twice) and Australia.

References

External links

Northampton Saints profileAviva Premiership profileERC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nutley, Ben 1992 births Living people English rugby union players Northampton Saints players Rugby union flankers Rugby union locks Sportspeople from Luton Rugby union players from Luton