Benjamin James White (born 27 May 1998) is a professional

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 who plays as a scrum-half. Until the end of the 2022–23 season he was at Gallagher Premiership club

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

, before the demise of the club in June 2023. He then agreed terms to join

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

club

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

from the 2023–24 season. Though born in England, White represents

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

at international level after qualifying on ancestry grounds.

Club career

2014–2021: Leicester Tigers

White made his first senior Tigers appearance aged 17, against Argentina at Welford Road in

Marcos Ayerza Marcos Ayerza (born January 12, 1983 in Buenos Aires) is a former Argentine rugby union rugby player who played loose-head prop for the Leicester Tigers and his national team. His passion and aggression on the field earned him the nickname "El Toro ...

's testimonial fixture in the build up to the

2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was onl ...

. White then made his Premiership debut against Harlequins on 25 October 2015; at the age of 17 years and 151 days White became the youngest player to play for

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

in the Premiership. White, a member of the Tigers Academy, captained the Tigers U18 Academy League Team, the Premiership 7's team and ultimately captained the Tigers 1st 15 in the Premiership, aged 21. On the 16 June 2021

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 ...

announced his release. White is also the youngest professional player in

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 ...

history having made his debut against

London Welsh London Welsh Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain) was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seasons, ...

on 23 April 2016, whilst on loan from Leicester.

2021: London Irish

White joined Premiership Rugby side

ahead of the 2021–22 season.

International career

England Under 20s and England XV

White, who represented England at U17's, featured for England U18-s in all of their 2016 Six Nations matches in 2016. On 3 January 2018 White was named in England under-20s squad for the 2018 U-20s Six Nations Championship, and he captained England under-20s. White started for England under-20s in the 2018 Rugby World Cup Final against France, having started the semi-final against South Africa and being involved in every Pool game. After a breakthrough year for Leicester in 2018-19, White was named in a squad for an uncapped match against the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

2022: Scotland International Squad

White qualifies for Scotland through having a Scottish grandfather. In January 2022 White was named in the

squad for the 2022 6 Nations Championship. White was named as a replacement for Scotland's opening game of the Six Nations against . Due to his form with London Irish during the 2022/23 English Premiership, he was selected as starting scrum-half for the Scotland team which won a third consecutive Calcutta Cup and a second away win at Twickenham in the opening round of the 2023 Guinness Six Nations. In 2023 White was selected in Scotland's 33 player squad for the

2023 Rugby World Cup The 2023 Rugby World Cup is scheduled to be the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It is scheduled to take place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the cou ...

in France.

Personal life

White is a supporter of hometown football club

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

. He is currently in a relationship with

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player

Jodie Burrage Jodie Anna Burrage (born 28 May 1999) is a British tennis player. She has a career-high WTA singles ranking of 136, achieved on 3 October 2022, and a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 329, set on 12 July 2021. She has won four singles an ...

Career statistics

List of international tries

References

External links

* 1998 births Living people English rugby union players English people of Scottish descent Scotland international rugby union players Scottish rugby union players People educated at Leicester Grammar School People educated at Denstone College Leicester Tigers players Doncaster Knights players Rugby union players from Stoke-on-Trent Rugby union scrum-halves 2023 Rugby World Cup players {{England-rugbyunion-bio-stub