Justin Benn

Justin Benn (born 15 May 1993 in Uitenhage, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player, who most recently played with Western Province.^[1] His regular position is flanker or number eight.

Career

Youth and Varsity Cup rugby

Benn received his first provincial call-up at primary school level, when he represented Eastern Province at the 2006 Under-13 Craven Week tournament held in Oudtshoorn. At secondary school level, he represented Eastern Province at the 2009 Under-16 Grant Khomo Week and at the premier rugby union competition for South African high schools, the Under-18 Craven Week, in both 2010 and 2011, scoring a try in their 2010 match against Eastern Cape rivals the Border Bulldogs.^[2]

After finishing high school, Benn moved to Cape Town to join Western Province, where he played for Western Province U19 in the 2012 Under-19 Provincial Championship. He started eleven of their twelve matches during the round-robin stage of the competition as Western Province finished top of the log and also started their 24–14 victory over Golden Lions U19 in the semi-final^[3] and their 22–18 victory over Blue Bulls U19 in the final to be crowned the 2012 champions.^[4]

He progressed to Under-21 level in 2013 and represented Western Province U21 nine times during the 2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship. He made five appearances off the bench (scoring a try in their match against Golden Lions U21 in a 53–26 victory)^[5] before being promoted to the starting line-up. In his first start against Leopards U21, he scored two tries in a 54–35 victory^[6] and followed this up with tries against Border U21^[7] and Golden Lions U21^[8] to help Western Province finish top of the log. He featured in their 44–41 extra time victory over the Golden Lions in the semi-final,^[9] but didn't feature in the final, which Western Province won, beating Blue Bulls U21 30–23 in Cape Town.^[10]

At the start of 2014, Benn was included in the Maties squad that played in the 2014 Varsity Cup. He played in five round-robin matches and in the semi-final, which Maties lost 8–20 to Cape Town rivals UCT Ikey Tigers.^[11] He missed the start of the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship through injury,^[12] but returned for their final five matches of the regular season and scored one try in his first start of the season in a 91–7 win over Border U21.^[13] He also played in their 41–17 defeat of Free State U21 in the semi-final,^[14] but ended on the losing side of a final for the second time in 2014 as the Blue Bulls U21s won the title by beating Western Province 20–10 in Cape Town.^[15]

Benn once again represented Maties in the Varsity Cup in 2015; he appeared in all seven of their matches during the competition as Maties finished in fifth place to miss out on the semi-finals for only the second time.

Western Province

After the 2015 Varsity Cup, Benn linked up with the Western Province squad for the 2015 Vodacom Cup competition. He made his first class debut on 18 April 2015 by playing off the bench in a 34–6 victory over the Border Bulldogs.^[16] He made a further three appearances as a replacement before starting his first match in Western Province's semi-final clash against the Leopards. Benn not only scored his first senior try in this match, but also added a second try in a 47–22 victory for Western Province.^[17] He was used as a replacement in their 10–6 victory over the Blue Bulls in the semi-finals^[18] and started the final, but could not prevent Western Province slipping to a 7–24 defeat to the Pumas.^[19]

He was included in Western Province's Currie Cup squad for the first time in 2015 and came on as a replacement in their 50–19 victory over the Pumas to make his Currie Cup debut.^[20]

References