Record-breaking NSW Waratahs and Wallabies prop Benn Robinson, the current President of The Rugby Union Players’ Association (RUPA), has today announced an injury-enforced retirement.
Robinson, who took over the role of RUPA President in 2014 after first joining the Board as Waratahs’ Player Director in 2013, suffered a serious eye injury against the Brumbies at Allianz Stadium in Round Eight.
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31-year-old Robinson represented Australia at Schoolboys, U21s and Wallaby level, playing 72 Test matches for Australia after making his debut against the Springboks in Johannesburg in September 2006, becoming Wallaby Number 814.
Affectionately known as either ‘Robbo’ or ‘Cat’, due to the uncanny resemblance between himself and much-loved former Australian cricket Greg ‘Fat Cat’ Ritchie, Robinson has led his peers with aplomb during his Presidency thus far and is an outstanding advocate for both player development and player welfare, recently leading the charge for the implementation of baseline concussion tests.
Robinson made his Super Rugby debut for the Waratahs earlier in 2006 as NSW defeated the Reds at Ballymore, playing all thirteen of his team’s matches that season and becoming just the second front rower to win the Australian Super Rugby Rookie of the Year award.
Robinson made a Waratahs-record 148 Super Rugby appearances, placing him among the competition’s top ten all-time players and behind only Stephen Moore as the second highest capped Australian Super Rugby player of all time. He was the 163rd Captain of his state when he led the side in two matches in 2012.
He scored eight tries for the Waratahs and played the full 80 minutes in his side’s 2014 Grand Final victory over the Crusaders, however was limited to just over 100 minutes action this season due to injury.
Robinson is also Australia’s second-highest capped prop of all-time, his last appearance in Gold being at Twickenham against England in November 2014 in front of more than 80,000 spectators. It was also at that venue where Robinson scored his last try for Australia against a Barbarians side featuring, among others, current Waratahs prop Angus Ta’avao and Wallaby winger Nick Cummins.
Robinson’s former Wallabies and Waratahs teammate Adam Ashley-Cooper, now playing in the French Top 14 with Bordeaux, first played alongside him when they were just seventeen years old. Speaking with RUPA from France, Ashley-Cooper paid tribute to his close mate’s outstanding career and character.
“Firstly, I would like to say congratulations to Cat on a ripper career, and good luck going forward,” Ashley-Cooper said. “He’s probably a little upset that his time is ending a little prematurely, but that’s football and life and every Rugby player can attest to it being a bit cruel sometimes; I have no doubt that he will get through it and come out to be successful on the other side.
“My memories on the field are of Robbo being one of the absolute best in the business; his ability to get over the ball was like no other prop, and he has done some truly special things in both the Waratahs and Wallabies jerseys.
“Seeing him there with his cute little headgear on as I ran past him on to the field of play used to give me such a lift; he’s certainly somebody you wanted to play alongside. Cat was a great team player and more importantly a better team mate.”
While quick to pay tribute to his on-field exploits, Ashley-Cooper said that it was Robinson’s friendship and the time that spent together off the field which he will treasure most.
“You form special bonds when you play and train and tour together for so long, but the special times shared off the field are much more important to me,” Ashley-Cooper explained.
“My favourite memories will mostly revolve around going out to eat with him! Cat was always really well regarded as the go-to man when it came to the restaurant scene, both at home and on tour; he was the guy who had everything sorted when it came to going out for a meal.
“He would also go out of his way to extend invites to the younger blokes or guys he didn’t know as well, and you knew that if you got an invite to dinner with Cat, it was a special thing and it was a bit of a notch on your belt.
“He was a genius when it came to ordering and you wouldn’t even bother to pick up your menu; he’d order for you. I’ve allowed him to do that (order) for me ever since I have known him, and he has never disappointed me.”
Ashley-Cooper said he had no doubt that Robinson’s transition into life after playing Rugby would be a successful one.
“He will certainly go on to achieve highly in whatever he puts his mind to next,” he said. “He can go out with his chest and head held high, which he would anyway as he has always possessed incredible posture, and now he can also finally devote some necessary time to improving his golf game.
“Cat’s truly a good person; he is very considerate of others, and he has a great heart, and I wish him all the best."
RUPA Chairman Bruce Hodgkinson SC praised Robinson’s character, which has served him so well both as a Rugby player and also as RUPA’s President.
“Benn is an astute and thoughtful person who is prepared to tackle problems by thinking about the situation, drawing upon his own experiences and participating with others in the development of solutions,” Hodgkinson said. “He is a man of the highest integrity and he is a great raconteur; Benn has a wonderful capacity to hold people in the palm of his hand when he is addressing them, particularly when he is utilising his sense of humour.
“Benn has provided a professional insight to the board on the issues that players face and the questions that are raised in their minds, which has allowed RUPA to focus attention on the real issues that players within our membership need addressed.
“I have no doubt that Benn will be successful in his future endeavours, and I think he will draw upon the support and mentorship of others to help him maximise opportunities and allow himself to make astute choices for himself and his family.”
Waratahs outside back Andrew Kellaway signed his first ever professional contract for the Club in 2014 and broke through for his Super Rugby debut this year. He told RUPA about how Robinson went out of his way to welcome young players into the Club, and spoke of his gratitude that he’d had the opportunity to play alongside Robinson.
“Cat was always the first bloke who went and introduced himself to new guys when they first arrived at the Club,” Kellaway said. “He’d extend his hand and see if they needed anything, and he would do that for every new player; for somebody who has achieved what he has and had been at the Club for so long, that’s pretty special.
“He is one of those characters you can’t ever replace and he is so unique in the sense that he has a very special presence when he is in a room and everybody wants to be around him. To watch how he operates day in day out is something that everybody at the Club is better for having experienced.
“I’ll miss him as a bloke and I’ll miss his qualities, particularly his approachability and his sense of humour. To have a guy like that leave the Club is devastating for the rest of us, but he of course is always welcome here and he’ll always be a Waratah.”
Robinson played his junior Rugby for Beecroft Rugby Club and completed his schooling at The King’s School, where he was a member of their 2002 GPS Premiership-winning side alongside future professional teammates Daniel Halangahu and Dean Mumm as the trio earned Australian Schoolboys selection.
Benn made his provincial debut for New South Wales in 2004 against Salta in Argentina, with Tom Carter and Mumm among the other State debutants in a team led by former RUPA President and Wallaby Adam Freier.
In 2005, he played every game for Australia at the World U21 Championships in Argentina as they finished as runners up behind South Africa. Future Wallabies and Waratahs teammates of Robinson’s in that squad included Ben Alexander, Ashley-Cooper, Ben Batger, Halangahu, Ben Mowen, Mumm and Tatafu Polota-Nau.
Robinson, who also represented Eastwood in Sydney’s Shute Shield competition when not on Super Rugby or International duty, was a member of the Western Sydney Rams’ squad in the 2007 Australian Rugby Championship (ARC) and the Greater Sydney Rams’ in the 201 and 2015 Buildcorp National Rugby Championship (NRC). He last represented Eastwood in 2015.
Away from Rugby, Benn has shown considerable promise in the media space, providing expert analysis and commentary for broadcaster Channel Nine during the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cups and hosting numerous functions, including the 2015 Volvo-RUPA Awards Lunch alongside Fairfax Media’s Georgina Robinson.
Benn Robinson Career Statistics, NSW Waratahs & Wallabies:
Super Rugby caps: 148
Super Rugby points: 45
Test rugby caps: 72
Test rugby points: 15
