Who is Ben White: Ten things you should know about the London Irish scrum-half

A switch from Leicester Tigers to London Irish put scrum-half Ben White firmly on Scotland’s radar.

Ten things you should know about Ben White

1. Ben White was born on 27 May 1998 in Stoke-on-Trent, England. He stands at 5ft 11in (1.8m) and weighs 13st 10lb (87kg).

2. He competes for London Irish but has played for Doncaster Knights and Leicester Tigers.

3. White represented England U20 but has switched to Scotland for his senior international rugby.

4. The scrum-half qualifies to play for Scotland through a grandparent and was first named in Gregor Townsend’s squad for the 2022 Six Nations.

5. Gregor Townsend has described White as a “tough competitor”, saying: “He was at Leicester from a very young age and didn’t play that much for them over the last couple of seasons.

“But his move to London Irish has rekindled his career. He’s been excellent down there. He’s got an all-round game, the basics are very good and he’s a tough competitor who likes to defend, but has also got a break and an eye for a gap.”

6. He’s dating British tennis player Jodie Burrage.

7. White is the youngest player to ever compete in the Premiership for Leicester. He broke Ben Youngs’s record when he appeared in a match against Harlequins in 2016 when he was 17 years and 151 days old.

8. He has a black Labrador called Otto.

9. London Irish head coach Declan Kidney highly praised White when they signed him in 2021. He said: “He’s a really promising scrum-half, with great experience despite his age.

“We want to develop a group of young scrum-halves under the mentorship of Nick Phipps to bring the club forward. Ben knows a good few of the boys already from their time together with England U20.”

10. White supports football club Stoke City.

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