Ben Thaler
Ben Thaler (born 30 August 1981) is a professional rugby league referee and one of the Rugby Football League's Full Time Match Officials. He officiates in the Super League.
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| Born | 30 August 1981 Wakefield, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 20 June 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Background
Thaler was born in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England.
Career
Ben's first pro game was against Leigh v York City Knights on 1 July 2001. His first Super League game was against the London Broncos v Leigh on 29 May 2005.
He was a part of a New Zealand referee exchange in 2005.
He was the referee for both the 2015 Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford, and the 2015 Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium.
He was the referee for the 2017 Million Pound Game, which saw Leigh Centurions relegated from Super League, and Hull Kingston Rovers promoted, in a straight swap of the two clubs promoted and relegated from the previous season.
International
He was the video referee for Wales v Ireland on 1 November 2009. for the Rugby League European Cup.
He was the video referee for Wales v Scotland on 8 November 2009.
He has refereed for USA v Jamaica on 14 November 2009.
He was the referee and video referee in various 2013 Rugby League World Cup games.
He was the referee and video referee in various games in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. He went on to be the Video Referee for the Final.