Every sportsman has a different journey to start their career, and Cinderford Rugby lock Ben Carpenter is no different. Being introduced to rugby in secondary school, his passion for the sport was initiated from his PE teacher, and since then has been a huge part of his life.
“When I was in year seven I joined a new secondary school. My PE teacher got me into rugby because I only really played cricket, but I was quite a big lad when I joined school so he asked me to start playing and I really enjoyed it,” he reminisced.
“I had mates that played at local clubs, started playing local rugby and progressed from there. I played about seven years of club rugby, went to college, did really well and got into a few academies.
“Then I went to university, got into BUCS Two’s level, had a few appearances with some clubs while I was there and now I’m at Cinderford.”
After recently graduating from Hartpury University, he wanted to continue playing rugby for a club whilst staying at home for another year, saying: “I just finished three years of Hartpury University, finished my degree and graduated last Thursday.
“I joined Cinderford as I decided to stay in Gloucester for another year. I wanted to play some rugby and I found the transition pretty easy.
“I had a few boys that came with me from Hartpury and I knew a few that were at the club already,” he explained.
Another reason behind Carpenter’s choice to play for the White Rose was their quality of coaching. Having familiar faces at the club and within the team enabled Carpenter to adapt a lot quicker.
“The coaching side of things stood out for me. I kind of knew Brock, one of the coaches, already, so that made the transition pretty easy because I already knew people at the club and was made to feel really welcome.
“Luckily for me, I got into the starting line-up pretty quickly, which always helps when you’re playing and training more.”
Regarding the club’s ambitions, the 21-year-old said their aim was to rebuild after being demoted from National One last season.
🏉Cinderford rugby lock Ben Carpenter talks on Cinderford Rugby's plan to rebuild ahead of a push for promotion next season@makaylaethomas reports ⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/EVjViBPy2V
— Park Life Sport (@ParkLife_Sport) November 11, 2024
“Cinderford got demoted from National One last year so this year is just about rebuilding the squad and the club and getting back to that National One spot.
“This season is just to build a team and have a base to go again next season to then get promoted. We want to get promoted this year if possible, but I think it’s more of a learning year,“ he said.
Carpenter followed up by discussing his personal aims for the future and challenging himself further along the line.
“Personally, I want to improve my rugby and play as high as I can and hopefully push for a National 1 Championship if possible.
“But I’m not at that stage at the moment where I’m playing, so that’s where I’d like to play in the future.“
