Benjamin Francis (born 20 March 1996) is a Welsh field hockey player who has represented Wales. He competed for Wales at two Commonwealth Games.
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| Born | 20 March 1996 Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Field hockey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Forward | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Biography
editFrancis played club hockey for Swansea Bay Hockey Club and went on to gain caps for Wales at U16, U18 and U21 level.[1] He studied Economics at the University of Exeter, where he played club hockey for the University of Exeter Hockey Club.[2]
He made his full Welsh debut against Scotland in 2015 and won a silver medal at the 2017 Sultan of Johor Trophy[1] before joining Reading Hockey Club in the Men's England Hockey League.[1] While at Reading in 2018, he was selected to represent the Welsh team at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.[3]
After playing in Dutch league for Crefleder, Francis joined Wimbledon for the 2019–20 season.[4]
Francis was selected to represent Wales again at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham,[5][6] helping his nation to a sixth place finish during the men's tournament after being defeated by New Zealand in the fifth place play off match on 7 August 2022.[7]
In 2023, Francis was part of the Welsh team at the 2023 World Cup, which was the first time in their history that Wales had appeared in the world Cup.[8] Additionally he was part of the Welsh team that played at the 2023 Men's EuroHockey Championship.[9]
In 2025, he helped Wales win the gold medal at the European Championship II, defeating Ireland in the final.[10][11]
References
edit- 1 2 3 "Ben Francis". Hockey Wales. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
- ↑ "Hockey Club Alumni". University of Exeter. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
- ↑ "Commonwealth Games 2018: Meet Team Wales heading to Australia's Gold Coast". BBC Sport. 2 April 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
- ↑ "Hockey transfers 2019/20: Latests ins and outs in English Premier Divisions". The Hockey Paper. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
- ↑ "Hockey Wales 2022 Commonwealth Games squads". South West Sports News. 16 June 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
- ↑ "Hockey Commonwealth Games 2022: Wales select 'incredibly competitive' squads". The Hockey Paper. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
- ↑ "Commonwealth Games: Hockey - Men results". BBC Sport. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
- ↑ "2023 World Cup in India highlights Wales' international student offer3 Eurohockey Championships". Study in Wales.ac.uk. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
- ↑ "Wales Men Win Euro Qualifiers To Secure Sport At 2023 Eurohockey Championships". Hockey Wales. 31 August 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
- ↑ "Wales men beat Ireland in EuroHockey II final shootout". FBBC Sport. 2 August 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
- ↑ "EuroHockey Championship II 2025 Men". FIH. Retrieved 7 August 2025.