Bevan French facts for kids
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Personal information
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| Full name | Bevan Lionel French | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 4 January 1996 Inverell, New South Wales, Australia |
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| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 13 st 8 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Playing information
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| Position | Stand-off, Fullback, Wing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 23 April 2025
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| Relatives | Nathan Blacklock (uncle) Preston Campbell (cousin) |
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Bevan French (born 4 January 1996) is an Australian professional rugby league player. He plays as a five-eighth, fullback, or winger. Bevan currently plays for the Wigan Warriors in the Super League.
He started his career with the amateur club Tingha Tigers. He joined the Parramatta Eels in the NRL in 2013. In 2019, he moved to the Wigan Warriors. Bevan has also played for the Indigenous All Stars team.
With Wigan, Bevan has won several big titles. These include three Super League Grand Finals (2023, 2024). He also won two Challenge Cup finals (2022, 2024). In 2024, he helped Wigan win the World Club Challenge. He made history in 2024 by winning the Man of the Match award in all three of these major finals.
Contents
About Bevan French
Bevan French was born in Inverell, New South Wales, Australia. He is from an Indigenous Australian background. His uncle, Nathan Blacklock, was also a famous rugby league player. Nathan played for the Australian national team.
Bevan played his junior rugby league for the Tingha Tigers. He also went to Inverell High School.
Bevan's Rugby League Journey
Starting Young
Bevan began playing first-grade rugby for Tingha when he was just 15 years old. He played as a fullback against much older men.
In 2013, many big clubs from the NRL wanted to sign him. He chose the Parramatta Eels because it "just felt right."
Playing for Parramatta Eels
Early Years at Parramatta
In 2015 and 2016, Bevan played for the Eels' youth team. In 2015, he scored 16 tries in 22 games. He signed a new contract with Parramatta until the end of 2018.
In February 2016, Bevan helped the Eels win the 2016 NRL Auckland Nines tournament. He scored 8 tries, which was a record for that tournament. He was also named in the tournament's best team.
NRL Debut and Success
Bevan made his NRL debut in May 2016. He scored a try in his first game against the Newcastle Knights. He quickly became known for scoring lots of tries. He scored 19 tries in just 13 games in his first NRL season. This made him the top try-scorer for his club that year.
Challenges and Changes
In 2017, Bevan played 16 games and scored 9 tries. He missed some games due to a hamstring injury. In 2018, he started the season at fullback. However, he faced more injuries and was sometimes dropped from the team. He spoke about how injuries affected his performance.
Bevan was moved to the reserve grade team in August 2018. This happened after he said he might leave Parramatta if he couldn't play fullback.
Time with Wentworthville Magpies
2019 Season
In 2019, Bevan played for the Wentworthville Magpies. This team is linked to the Parramatta Eels. He scored the first-ever try at the new Western Sydney Stadium in April 2019. This was a big moment for the new stadium.
Bevan played 15 games for Wentworthville and scored 13 tries.
Joining Wigan Warriors
Starting in Super League
In July 2019, Bevan signed a two-year contract with the Wigan Warriors. This team plays in the Super League in England. He made his first appearance for Wigan in a win against Hull KR.
2020 Season
Bevan played in the 2020 Super League Grand Final for Wigan. They lost a very close game 8-4 to St Helens. St Helens scored the winning try in the last few seconds of the game.
2021 Season and Injury
Bevan missed the first few games of the 2021 season. He returned and scored two tries in a win against Castleford. Later, he got a serious hamstring injury. This injury meant he missed the rest of the 2021 season. He went back to Australia for his recovery.
Amazing 2022 Season
In May 2022, Bevan helped Wigan win the 2022 Challenge Cup Final. He scored a hat-trick (three tries) in a game against Salford.
In July 2022, Bevan made history by scoring seven tries in one game. This was a new Super League record! He scored these tries in Wigan's huge 60-0 win over Hull F.C.. He scored another hat-trick against Hull Kingston Rovers. He finished the season with 33 tries in 23 games.
In September 2022, Bevan signed a new two-year contract with Wigan.
Winning in 2023
In 2023, Bevan continued to score many tries for Wigan. He scored two tries in a big 60-0 win against Wakefield Trinity. He also scored important tries in close games.
In October 2023, Bevan won the prestigious Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel award. This award goes to the best player in the Super League. On 14 October, Bevan played a key role in Wigan's 2023 Super League Grand Final victory over the Catalans Dragons.
Triumphs in 2024
On 24 February 2024, Bevan played in Wigan's 2024 World Club Challenge final. Wigan won against the Penrith Panthers, and Bevan was named Man of the Match. In April, he signed a new four-year deal with Wigan.
On 8 June, Bevan played in the 2024 Challenge Cup final. He scored a try and won the Lance Todd Trophy as Man of the Match. Wigan won the game 18-8 against Warrington.
Bevan helped Wigan win the League Leaders' Shield and the Super League title again in 2024. He won the Rob Burrow Award in the Grand Final. He was the first player in British rugby league history to win the Lance Todd Trophy and the Rob Burrow Award in the same season.
2025 Season
In 2025, Bevan was a top player in Wigan's 48-24 win over Warrington in Las Vegas. He scored a try and was named player of the match.
Bevan's Personal Life
In 2021, Bevan returned to Australia during his injury recovery. He went home to be with his family because his mother was very ill. She sadly passed away during this time. Wigan gave him time off to be with his family. He returned to the UK in 2022.
Bevan's Achievements
Team Wins with Wigan Warriors
- Super League
- Winners (2): 2023, 2024
- League Leaders' Shield
- Winners (3): 2020, 2023, 2024
- Challenge Cup
- Winners (2): 2022, 2024
- World Club Challenge
- Winners (1): 2024
Individual Awards
- Man of Steel:
- Winner (1): 2023
- Super League Dream Team
- Winner (3): 2020, 2022, 2023
- Rob Burrow Award
- Winner (1): 2024
- Lance Todd Trophy
- Winner (1): 2024
- RLWBA Player of the Year:
- Winner (1): 2020
- Albert Goldthorpe Medal:
- Winner (1): 2023
- Wigan Warriors Player of the Year
- Winner (1): 2020
- Wigan Warriors Players' Player of the Year
- Winner (1): 2020
Career Statistics
| Year | Team | Games | Tries | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 |  Parramatta Eels |
13 | 19 | 76 |
| 2017 | 16 | 9 | 36 | |
| 2018 | 18 | 7 | 28 | |
| 2019 |  Wigan Warriors |
8 | 6 | 32 |
| 2020 | 21 | 17 | 72 | |
| 2021 | 5 | 3 | 12 | |
| 2022 | 24 | 31 | 124 | |
| 2023 | 32 | 19 | 76 | |
| 2024 | 14 | 16 | 64 | |
| 2025 | 14 | 10 | 40 | |
| Totals | 173 | 142 | 588 |
