 Ben Whitehouse | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Ben Whitehouse (1990-08-09)9 August 1990 (age 35) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| School | Gowerton Comprehensive School | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative | Nigel Whitehouse (father) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Rugby union referee | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ben Whitehouse (born 9 August 1990) is aWelshrugby unionreferee. He is currently one of five professional referees at theWelsh Rugby Union, alongsideCraig Evans andAdam Jones.
Whitehouse started refereeing at the age of 19, during the 2009/10 European season.[1] Since then, Whitehouse has come through the ranks at the Welsh Rugby Union, refereeing at the Union' top level thePrincipality Premiership. He was part of the Welsh Rugby Union referees academy in 2013, where in February 2014, he was selected for the2014 IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy tournament inHong Kong, which saw him referee the final betweenTonga U20 andJapan U20.[2][3] Later that year, he appeared in his firstBritish and Irish Cup, and was selected by the four home unions to officiate the final betweenLeinster A andLeeds Carnegie.[4]
On 21 November 2014, he refereed his first professional game,Connacht vZebre during the2014–15 Pro12 season. That season, he also made his international debut, refereeingBelgium vSweden during the2014–16 European Nations Cup Division 1B season. At the end of that season, Whitehouse signed a professional referee's contract with the WRU on 5 June 2015, just a day before he refereed his firstWorld Rugby Under 20 Championship match, betweenFrance U20 and Japan U20.[5]
In the 2015/16 season, he became a regular appointment at Pro12 level, and made his first European appearance, officiating theEdinburgh–Grenoble clash on 13 November 2015 as part of the2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup. He later made his Champions Cup debut, refereeingLeicester Tigers vBenetton Treviso on 16 January 2016.[6]
On 18 June 2016, Whitehouse had his firstWorld Rugby international appointment, assistant referee for the second and third test ofIreland'stour of South Africa.[7] On 26 November, he took charge of his first World Rugby appointment, refereeingRomania againstUruguay during the2016 end-of-year rugby union internationals.[8]
On 24 June 2017, he refereed the World Cup Qualifier between the United States and Canada in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.[9]