Ben Blain
Rugby player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ben Blain (born 16 September 1988) is a professional rugby union referee who represents the Scottish Rugby Union.[1]
16 September 1988
| Born | Ben Blain
Nickname = the shrub 16 September 1988 Carlisle, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| University | Northumbria University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Rugby union referee | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby union career
Playing career
Amateur career
Blain played with Carlisle RFC as a scrum-half.[2]
Referee career
Professional career
Blain began refereeing with Cumbria Referee Society.[3][non-primary source needed] By 2015 he was refereeing local English matches in National League 1.[4] and Academy matches for the English Premiership.[5]
In 2016, Blain joined the Scottish Rugby Union to be part of their referee group. He is now a member of the Borders Referee Society. He was promoted to the Elite SRU refereeing panel in 2017.[6]
He now referees in the Scottish Premiership.[7][8]
He has now refereed in the Pro14.[9] He made his debut in the Dragons v Munster match in January 2019.[10]
He has also refereed in the European Challenge Cup.[11][12][13]
Blain refereed his first Super 6 match on 14 December 2019 when the Ayrshire Bulls played Stirling County.[14]
He refereed his first 1872 Cup match on 21 December 2019.[15]
International career
Blain refereed the Belgium v Georgia in March 2019.[16]
Blain has been picked as Assistant Referee for International matches.[17]
He has also refereed in U20 Six Nations matches.[9]
Outside of rugby
Blain is a chartered surveyor and has a degree in Estate Management from Northumbria University.[18]