Ben Kay
England
player portrait
Full name Benedict James Kay
Born December 14, 1975, Liverpool
Current age 48 years 96 days
Major teams Barbarians, British and Irish Lions, Leicester Tigers, England
Position Lock
Height 6 ft 6 in
Weight 248 lb

Test career
Span Mat Start Sub Pts Tries Conv Pens Drop Won Lost Draw %
All Tests 2001-2009 64 49 15 10 2 0 0 0 44 19 1 69.53
England 2001-2009 62 48 14 10 2 0 0 0 44 18 0 70.96
British and Irish Lions 2005-2005 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 25
Five/Six Nations 2002-2008 25 20 5 5 1 0 0 0 17 8 0 68
IRB Rugby World Cup 2003-2007 13 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 2 0 84.61

Career statistics
Test debut Canada v England at Markham, Jun 2, 2001 match details
Last Test Argentina v England at Salta, Jun 13, 2009 match details
Test Statsguru Main menu | Career summary | Match list | Most points | Most tries | Tournament list

English Premiership
Team Span Mat Start Sub Pts Tries Conv Pens Drop Won Lost Draw %
All matches 1999-2010 177 149 28 40 8 0 0 0 122 48 7 70.9
Leicester Tigers 1999-2010 177 149 28 40 8 0 0 0 122 48 7 70.9
Profile

A towering second-row forward, Ben Kay won 62 caps for England between 2001 and 2009 before retiring at the end of the 2009-10 season after 11 years with Leicester Tigers.

Although some will best remember Kay for spilling the ball with the try line at his mercy during the 2003 World Cup final, he was one of the most highly-rated middle line-out jumpers in world rugby.

Kay was a member of Tigers' Heineken Cup winning sides in 2001 and 2002 as his international career blossomed under the guidance of team-mate and captain Martin Johnson.

He made his full England début against Canada on June 2 200, displacing Danny Grewcock from the England side, and was named as the Tigers' Members' Player of the Year 2001-02. Arguably Kay 's stand-out year came in 2003 when he played every minute of every England game, except for the match against Uruguay, as England won world rugby's top prize.

His line-out skills came to the fore here, particularly during games against South Africa, when Kay learned to count to ten in Afrikaans in order to crack the Springboks' line-out codes.

Sir Clive Woodward selected him for the 2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand and he started the first Test of the series.

He was the only player to play every minute of England's 2007 Rugby World Cup campaign, culminating in their narrow loss in the final. In doing so, he became one of only four players to have started both the 2003 and 2007 Rugby World Cup Finals, the other three being Jonny Wilkinson, Jason Robinson and Phil Vickery.

In his penultimate season, Kay started both the 2008-09 Heineken Cup final and the Guinness Premiership win the same season. And in his final year, Kay was an instrumental figure in helping the Tigers win the 2009-10 Guinness Premiership. Kay will serve as a commentator for ESPN's Aviva Premiership coverage in the 2010-11 season.

Latest Articles
Focusing on the long-term rewards (Nov 28, 2012) Out of the frying pan, into the fire? (Oct 10, 2012) Kay sympathises with Welford Road axe (Oct 8, 2012) RWC organisers must learn from London 2012 (Aug 2, 2012) London 2012 sets the bar for Rugby World Cup (Aug 2, 2012) Ben Kay news and articles (41) »
Latest Photos
May 10, 2011
ESPN commentators Austin Healey and Ben Kay present Dream Team skipper Tom Hayes with his award
ESPN commentators Austin Healey and Ben Kay present Dream Team skipper Tom Hayes with his award
©  Getty Images
Oct 31, 2010
Ben Kay, Austin Healey, Peter Richards and Mark Durden-Smith get in the Halloween spirit
Ben Kay, Austin Healey, Peter Richards and Mark Durden-Smith get in the Halloween spirit
©  Getty Images
Sep 19, 2010
ESPN commentators Ben Kay and Austin Healey
ESPN commentators Ben Kay and Austin Healey
©  Getty Images
Aug 6, 2010
ESPN's Ben Kay and Nick Mullins
ESPN's Ben Kay and Nick Mullins
©  Getty Images
Ben Kay rugby photos (11) »

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