The Seattle Seawolves re-signed Ben Cima for the 2021 Major League Rugby season, his third with the team. The 24-year-old (25 in March) flyhalf is 6’1″ and 200 lbs.
Following a pre-season head knock, Ben returned for the final two matches to start at flyhalf for the Seawolves during the regular season.
Ben recently just played with the Ohio Aviators 10s in the inaugural 2020 World Tens Series in Bermuda. Ben kicked the first 5-point conversion of conversion jeopardy during the Series with the team advancing to the final against SX10s.
During 2019, Ben scored 7 pts, had 73 ball carries for 528 meters, had 3 tackle breaks, and 5 offloads during the 1,100 minutes played. He also kicked over 102 times for 3,759 meters.
In 2018 he played with San Diego Legion, starting 3 of the 7 matches he played for 298 minutes.
Cima was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and lives in Bethesda, Maryland. He comes from a rugby family with his father Marcelo, having played at LaSalle in Argentina and his brother Matias playing with him at both the University of Maryland and at Rocky Gorge.
He attended Gonzaga College High School from 2010-2014 and was a four-time High School All-American. While at Gonzaga, the team won the National Championship in 2014.
Cima then went to the University of Maryland in 2014, where he played rugby before moving on to play club rugby with Rocky Gorge. He will earn a B.S. Degree in Accounting and Finance at Maryland after the Fall 2018 semester.
USA Rugby Age Grade & National Team
Ben Cima’s first tour with the All-Americans (U19s) was in 2014, just prior to his entering the University of Maryland. The team toured Argentina.
Ben Cima started for the USA Junior All-Americans (U20s) at the Junior World Rugby Trophy in Hong Kong in 2014. In 2016, his 51-meter kick defeated Canada in the final seconds 19-18, propelling the team to the Junior World Rugby Trophy competition in Zimbabwe.
Cima also represented the USA Rugby Selects in the Americas Pacific Challenge in 2016 and in 2017. Based on his performance, he was selected to represent the USA at the 2017 Americas Rugby Championship. His debut for the Eagles (#504) came against Uruguay in San Antonio on February 4, 2017. His last of his ten tests was on March 3, 2018, against Uruguay in Montevideo. The team defended its Americas Rugby Championship title and now has had ten consecutive wins in the competition. In test matches he started 4 of the 10 matches he played, scoring 42 points through his boot (15 conversions and 4 penalty goals).
Ben Cima and Professional Rugby
During Fall 2017, Ben had a glimpse of entering the professional ranks after a brief trial with CA Brive in the Top 14.
In January 2018 the dream of playing professional rugby came to fruition as he signed a contract with the San Diego Legion for the inaugural 2018 Major League Rugby season. With the Legion, he played inside center, flyhalf, and fullback. The team ended the season in third place and statistically for the MLR, he was tied for 9th place in penalty goals attempted.
Following the season, he returned to play club rugby with Rocky Gorge and then signed with the New England Free Jacks for their exhibition season match against the Ontario Arrows in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Since the 2019 MLR season, Ben returned to the West Coast and played for the 2018 MLR Champions, the Seattle Seawolves. Ben is a talented player, who will improve with additional high-performance match experience and coaching. He is one of the rising young rugby players in the U.S. and has a bright future ahead.
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