Player Profile

Ben Flower was appointed Wales' 44th captain in 2009 and led the side against England and Serbia. A junior international in both rugby codes, Ben Flower played in the academies at both Newport Gwent Dragons and Cardiff Demons. Whilst playing for Welsh Premiership side Bedwas RFC, he was snapped up by Celtic Crusaders coach John Dixon, who initially developed Ben by playing him in the "Colts" reserve side who he helped with the Conference National title in 2008. He became a regular in the three years that Crusaders played in Super League, making 65 first team appearances. It was during that time that he appeared in Wales' 2009 and 2010 European Championship winning sides. He also went on loan to South Wales Scorpions in 2010, making four appearances, including one in the club's first ever game, a victory at home to Workington Town. Honours came to him when he joined Wigan in 2012. In 2013, he and team-mate Gil Dudson became the first Welsh-born Challenge Cup finalist and winner for 17 years, also playing in that year's Grand Final win. He was also in the Grand Final winning sides in 2016 and 2018, plus a World Club Challenge win in 2017. He joined Leigh Centurions for 2021 but suffered a long-term injury and only made four appearances. He retired from the professional game at the end of the 2021 season after making 222 Super League appearances in his career, 168 of them with Wigan Warriors. In total, he made 274 first class appearances in his rugby league career. In September 2021, he joined WRU Championship side Pontypool, where his uncle Stephen Flower played in the 1980s.