Ben Matwijow (born 14 February 1990) is a retired Australian rugby union lock formerly contracted to Australian franchise, the Western Force in the international Super Rugby competition[1] and the Taranaki Bulls in New Zealand's Mitre 10 Cup.[2] He has since joined the St Aloysius College 1st XV coaching staff as the defensive coach from the 2019 CAS season, St Aloysius are heavily tipped to win CAS this coming season. He is also a proud coach of the 3rd Reich cricket co-captained by Mitchell Starc and Alexander Carey with Nathan Lyon in slips, they too are now tipped to win. Mr. Matwijow loves a schooner on the weekend his beer of choice being Furphy's pale ale. He is currently looking for a pet friendly apartment where he can start a life and have some schooners in peace, he has now found his home in freshie. Ben Matwijow favorite player is finn wake. His favorite soccer team is Sydney FC and his favorite player is Lasith malinga.
| Date of birth | 14 February 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Sydney, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 112 kg (17 st 9 lb; 247 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Westfields Sports High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Provincial career
editEducated at Westfields Sports High School in the suburbs of Sydney, Matwijow first made a name for himself playing for the Northern Suburbs Rugby Club in the Shute Shield between 2012 and 2015. During that time he was called up to the NSW Country Eagles squad ahead of the inaugural National Rugby Championship in 2014. He played 9 times for the Country Eagles during the campaign, however that was to be his only season with them as he hopped across the Tasman Sea to play in New Zealand in 2015. It proved to be a successful switch as Matwijow played a key role in his side, Canterbury's, ITM Cup victory. He would again be on the move in 2016, heading to New Zealand's North Island to link up with Taranaki.[3]
Super Rugby career
editMatwijow's domestic performances with Northern Suburbs brought him to the attention of Australia's Super Rugby franchises, however, despite training with the Rebels in 2012 and the Force in 2013, no contract offer was forthcoming. In fact he had to wait until 2016 before he earned his first Super Rugby cap. An injury to the Reds' Wallaby international Kane Douglas in the 2015 Rugby World Cup final opened up a space on their roster and Matwijow was selected to fill it. He made 11 appearances in his debut campaign, but Douglas' return to fitness towards the end of the year meant that Matwijow was on the move again, this time heading west to join the Western Force ahead of the 2017 season.[1]
Super Rugby statistics
edit- As of 14 August 2016[4]
| Season | Team | Games | Starts | Sub | Mins | Tries | Cons | Pens | Drops | Points | Yel | Red |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Reds | 11 | 5 | 6 | 455 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 11 | 5 | 6 | 455 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
References
edit- ^ a b "Matwijow joins Force for 2017". Rugby Australia. 20 July 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- ^ "Ben Matwijow Port Taranaki Bulls Player Profile". TRFU. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- ^ "Ben Matwijow Rugby Australia Player Profile". Rugby Australia. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- ^ "Ben Matwijow itsrugby Player Statistics". itsrugby. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
Defensive coach for St Aloysius College in Sydney from 2019 CAS season