Ben Castle Joins Dragons

[travelling_gerry]

26 March 2009, 1:15 pm
By Sean Bridger

Newport Gwent Dragons can confirm that Former Junior All Black, Waikato Chiefs and Western Force prop Ben Castle is joining the ranks at Rodney Parade for the 2009-2010 season on a three-year deal.At 185cm and 112kg, Castle is renowned for his skill in the scrum where his power and ability to play on either side of the front row will reinforce the Dragons' pack.

"Ben joins us with great experience and leadership having been a regular performer with Waikato Chiefs and this season with Western Force in the Super 14 competition, in addition to his time in France," said Dragons Head Coach Paul Turner.

"He has good leadership skills having captained Bay of Plenty and is also familiar with our captain Tom Willis from their Chiefs days. He will be a solid addition in the make-up of the Dragons squad."

The former captain of New Zealand provincial side Bay of Plenty won 42 Super Rugby caps with the Chiefs during his five seasons in New Zealand after debuting against the Crusaders in 2004 and is currently representing the Western Force as their marquee international player in the Super 14. He also represented the Junior All Blacks against Australia A at the Sydney Football Stadium in 2005.

"I am very pleased to be joining Newport Gwent Dragons," he said. "I am looking forward to joining up with Tom Willis again, who I played alongside in the Chiefs for five years and after playing against Hoani MacDonald numerous times, I am pleased to be playing with him. "I am excited about the direction of the region. There is a great base of players there and I am really looking forward to the season and its successes."
Castle (29) will replace Dragons tight head prop Rhys Thomas who joins to the Scarlets at the end of the season.

Thomas, who picked up his seventh Welsh cap against Italy in the 2009 Six Nations has been with the Dragons since the inception of regional rugby and has notched up 98 starts for the Men of Gwent.

"I've enjoyed my eight years with the Club, having come through the youth structure," he said. "I've made some very good friends here. It's a great squad of players and I wish them all the best. I'm particularly grateful to the fans who have been really good to me during my time at Rodney Parade."

Paul Turner added "Rhys has been a tremendous servant to the Dragons and the club wish him the best of luck in his new challenge."

Dragons Chief Executive Gethin Jenkins said "We would like to thank Rhys for his service to both Newport and the Dragons and wish him well down west.

"Whilst we have lost Rhys, we are confident that we have recruited someone able to replace him in Ben. He will bring with him a tremendous amount of leadership and experience to our exciting blend of emerging Welsh and international talent."

http://www.magnersleague.com:80/570_3116.php

[TraceTrace]

That was fast..

[Burgs]

Poop
Thanks for coming along Ben, I might not agree with the system allowing it but you have had, and I'm sure will continue to have for the rest of the season, a great positive influence on the Force pack which seems to be going unheralded in the media.

[shasta]

Bummer. Had hoped they'd throw enough Gits/Mitchell sponsorship money at him to turn that around. That's assuming ET Mining or someone else is interested in sponsoring fatties. Hopefully it's because the slot is reserved for a marquee 10 or 12 to bring Rabbit along.

Can't blame Castle for wanting some superannuation. Doubt he'd have made a fortune in 5 seasons at Waikato.

[Tazzmania]

As expected Ben Castle's stay with us was short term

Former Western Force prop Ben Castle has signed a three-year deal with Celtic League outfit Newport Gwent Dragons.

The ex-Force and Chiefs forward will link-up with the Welsh club in September.

More From Rugby Heaven

[AndyS]

Hopefully it's because the slot is reserved for a marquee 10 or 12...

The problem with a marquee 10 is that he is unlikely to be better than Giteau, and how has that worked out for us to date? Either Giteau is not as good as folk give him credit for or it doesn't matter how good the backline is if we are beaten in the forwards. If we go ahead with a marquee 10 and get better results, maybe some questions will get asked. But personally, I think we have to deal with the forwards first. They are certainly not as bad as some think, and there have been some very good individual performances, but I've never really seen a cohesive and rounded collective performance. As a group, they are adequate in general and that seems to be all that is hoped for from them.

[GIGS20]

I think it sucks that we have to enter the rebuilding phase before having a success phase, but I think that's exactly what is needed here. Do a Queensland and find some good young players, build a gameplan around their relative strengths and weaknesses ensure you have loyalty and commitment.

I guess I've been burnt a bit by the Giteau thing not producing many wins. I think we collectively need to biuld tries rather than looking for somebody to make an impossible break and look to score off the support.

[Ecky]

Poop
Thanks for coming along Ben, I might not agree with the system allowing it but you have had, and I'm sure will continue to have for the rest of the season, a great positive influence on the Force pack which seems to be going unheralded in the media.

Positive?
Force?
Media?

All in the one article? Tell him he's dreamin'

[GIGS20]

Positive?
Force?
Media?

All in the one article? Tell him he's dreamin'

that was
Positive
Force
unheralded in the
Media

[welshrugbyfan]

At least he signed with the right club, my club anyway, not the winning club just the right club.

Hope he likes playing in wet weather and living in Newport.

[lara93]

damn!

[SleazyWineBaas]

At least he signed with the right club, my club anyway, not the winning club just the right club.

Hope he likes playing in wet weather and living in Newport.

It beats France
They drink lager instead of vinegar, he can speak the language, the Welsh don't wear pascal coloured turtle necks, the Welsh don't ride their bicycles everywhere ringing their bells and saying bonjour, they won't kiss him, and they like props.
Newport isn't the end of the world, but you can see it from there