Born in England on 17 October 1976, Ben Darwin, moved to Australia as a young boy growing up in the Sydney. He attended Barker College (NSW) from 1986 to 1994. It was at school Ben showed the talent and determination on the rugby field that would see him play 28 Test matches for Australia.
After leaving school, Darwin spent the next nine years playing rugby an elite level. Before signing a three- year contract with the Brumbies starting ahead of the 1999 Super Rugby competition. He played club rugby for Norths and Newcastle and was selected for the NSW U19’s, NSW U20’s and NSW and Australia U21’s teams.
He graduated from the Australian Institute of Sport Scholarship program and played 47 matches for the Brumbies. Following a stellar season with the Brumbies in 2001, he was selected in the Wallabies squad to face the British Lions.
He debuted off the bench in the first Test against the Lions on the earning his first Wallaby cap at the age of 24. Although he sat on the bench for the rest of Lions’ tour, he was not overlooked in the Tri Nations starting multiple times during the 2001 and 2002 editions of the tournament. In 2003 he was selected in the Wallabies World Cup Squad.
Darwin's career came to an abrupt end during the 2003 Rugby World Cup Semi-final against the All Blacks. During a scrum Darwin felt an immense pressure on his neck and called out 'neck, neck, neck' which alerted All Black prop Kees Meeuws who stopped pushing, saving Darwin from potentially breaking his neck. He officially retired in 2004, having represented his country on 28 occasions.
Post retirement Darwin went on to coach his former club Norths in Sydney, before joining the Western Force as their forwards coach in 2006. In 2008 he joined the Shining Arcs coaching staff in Japan before returning to Australia with the Melbourne Rebels in 2010. In 2012 he returned to Japan this time as a forwards coach with Suntory Sungoliath.
JW April 2017
Career
 |
Barker College 1st Team Tighthead Prop |
1986 - 1994 |
 |
Australia Tighthead Prop |
2001 - 2003 |
 |
ACT Brumbies Tighthead Prop |
1999 - 2003 |
 |
Western Force Coach |
2006 - 2006 |
 |
Melbourne Rebels Coach |
2010 - 2010 |
 |
Urayasu D-Rocks Coach |
2008 - 2010 |
 |
Tokyo Sungoliath Coach |
2012 - 2013 |
