John Bentley
England
player portrait
Full name John Bentley
Born September 5, 1966, Dewsbury
Current age 57 years 205 days
Major teams British and Irish Lions, England B, Newcastle Falcons, England
Position Wing
Height 6 ft 0 in
Weight 217 lb

Test career
Span Mat Start Sub Pts Tries Conv Pens Drop Won Lost Draw %
All Tests 1988-1997 6 6 0 4 1 0 0 0 2 4 0 33.33
England 1988-1997 4 4 0 4 1 0 0 0 1 3 0 25
British and Irish Lions 1997-1997 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 50

Career statistics
Test debut Ireland v England at Lansdowne Road, Apr 23, 1988 match details
Last Test England v South Africa at Twickenham, Nov 29, 1997 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 1997-1997 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 100
Newcastle Falcons 1997-1997 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 100
Profile

John Bentley was a big, fast and aggressive wing who played four times for England between 1988 - 1999. Inbetween he switched codes and played international rugby league for Great Britain while representing Leeds, Halifax and a short stint with Balmain in Australia.

After rugby union turned professional he reverted back to it- a code in which he had made his international debut against Ireland in 1988 - and signed for the Newcastle Falcons.

He was selected for the 1997 Lions tour of South Africa where he played in the winning second test opposite James Small who refused to shake his hand after the game following some heated exchanges between the two and allegations of gouging from the South African following a tour match. Bentley was one of the most important personalities on tour, and his stint with the Lions brought him more acclaim than anything he achieved with England.

His final two performances for England came against Australia and a 29-11 defeat by South Africa was his last before he retired from union and switched allegiances back to league.

Latest Articles
Bentley urges Lions to pick on form - not reputation (Oct 22, 2012) Seven Year Itch (Jul 14, 2011) The heroes of 1997 - Where are they now? (Jun 19, 2009) Vickery grateful for reality check (May 31, 2009)
Latest Photos
Jul 5, 1997
The British and Irish Lions celebrate after clinching a series win over South Africa
The British and Irish Lions celebrate after clinching a series win over South Africa
©  Getty Images
Jun 28, 1997
John Bentley tackles Pieter Rossouw
John Bentley tackles Pieter Rossouw
©  Getty Images

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