Ben Herring
| Personal information | |||||||
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| Date of birth | 14 March 1980 | ||||||
| Place of birth | Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||
| Weight | 97 kg (214 lb) | ||||||
| Senior clubs* | |||||||
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* Professional club appearances and points counted for domestic first grade only. | |||||||
Ben Herring (born 14 March 1980) is a former New Zealand rugby union player and now a rugby coach at an international level. He currently coaches at an international level in both the 15-a-side and 7-a-side versions of the game.
Coaching career
After retirement from his playing career (see playing career below) in January 2009, Herring was employed as assistant coach at the European giant Leicester Tigers. He worked as a skills coach as well as contact specialist for two seasons, with over 60 games on the sidelines, including Heineken cup Semi finals and Premiership victories in 2009-10 and finalists 2010-11. He worked alongside current Leicester Tigers director of rugby Richard Cockerill, and Leinster Head coach Matt O’Connor.
In 2011 he worked as a defence consultant for neighboring up and coming Championship side Nottingham rugby, who reached the playoffs that season.
In 2011 Herring was signed for the long-standing Japanese top league side, NEC Green Rockets, as a forwards and defence coach for two seasons. He joined former Blues Head coach Greg Cooper. In his first season they finished in third place, their highest finish in the top league in recent history.
In 2013 Herring became an international coach working alongside Kieran Crowley with the Canadian 15s team and Geraint John with the Canadian 7s team.
Playing career
Herring played professionally from 2001-2009 in both New Zealand and England before his pre mature retirement through concussion. Herring was a superb openside flanker and turnover specialist. He began his senior rugby career when he shifted from Auckland to Dunedin to study a Physical Education degree at the University of Otago. He played for the Alhambra-Union club, whose most notable All Black was fellow openside Josh Kronfeld. Herring won Otago club player of the year for his first two seasons, playing fifty games for the club, before being contracted to Southland for the start of his professional career.
In his debut season for the Southland Stags he was named Southland player of the year, scoring two highly memorable NPC tries off kick offs. The first was an intercept and an unopposed run to the line off a Southland kickoff, while the second was against Canterbury in a Ranfurly Shield challenge, when he fielded a Canterbury kickoff and ran 60 meters to score. This form won him a Super 12 contract with the Highlanders in 2002. A second season at Southland followed, where by the end of 2003 he had scored seven tries in 22 games.
In 2004 he transferred to the Hurricanes and Vodafone Wellington Lions replacing the departing Kupu Vanisi. Injury restricted him to only six Super rugby games in his debut season with the Hurricanes. He returned to play a leading role for both the capital sides, forming a regular loose forward trio with Jerry Collins and Rodney So’oialo. After notable highlights against the British and Irish lions and NPC final appearances Herring took up a contract for European giants Leicester Tigers in 2007.
Herring won Leicester Tigers new-comer of the year in 2008. After 30 Premiership and Heineken Cup appearances Herring received a series of grizzly concussions that led to his premature retirement from all rugby in January 2009.
References
- https://web.archive.org/web/20130208061638/http://hurricanes.co.nz/team/players/ben-herring
- www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/Assistant...Ben-Herring.../story.html
- http://www.espnscrum.com/premiership-2010-11/rugby/story/138356.html