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| Born | Benjamin Botica (1989-10-07)7 October 1989 (age 36) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 85 kg (13 st 5 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relatives |
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| Occupation | Rugby union player | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ben Botica (born 7 October 1989,[3]Takapuna) is aNew Zealandrugby union player. Afly-half orcentre, he plays for French clubSoyaux Angoulême XV Charente.
The son of theNew Zealand internationalFrano Botica, he played rugby at school and was selected to play for theNew Zealand Schoolboys team.[4] In 2008, he spent a year in France where he played with the Espoirs (Academy) team ofBiarritz Olympique.[5]
He then returned to New Zealand where he joinedNorth Harbour. He played his first professional match in August 2009 againstSouthland in theAir New Zealand Cup.[6] In 2011, he narrowly missed out on selection for theAuckland Blues franchise and the chance to play inSuper Rugby.[4] He returned to France where he played the2011-2012Pro D2 season withCA Périgueux.[5]
Late in the season, it was announced that he had signed a two-year contract with Harlequins[1] although he actually signed in October 2011.[7] As a British passport holder, he did not count as a foreign player. In his initial season with Harlequins, he was the top points scorer (with 78) in theLV Cup.[8]
In his final game at Harlequins, the 2016European Challenge Cup Final, Botica came on as a replacement to face the club he was about to join. With time nearly up and Quins trailing by 7 points he kicked the ball toMontpellier who put it into touch to end the game. Most had expected him to keep the ball live and mount one final attack to attempt to level the scores and take it to extra time.[9][10][11][12] It was Head CoachConor O'Shea's last game for the club.
Botica joinedMontpellier in 2016 and moved toOyonnax in 2017.
On 16 November 2020, Botica would sign for French rivalsCastres on a two-year deal from the 2021–22 season.[13]