David Watkins (rugby)

David Watkins

Full name	David Watkins
Date of birth	5 March 1942 (1942-03-05) (age 69)
Place of birth	Blaina, Wales
Height	168 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	65 kg (10 st 3 lb)
School	Cwmcelyn School
Rugby league career
Position	Back
Professional clubs
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1967-1979 1979-? ?-1983	Salford Swinton Cardiff City (Bridgend) Blue Dragons	407	2907 3117
National teams
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1968-1979	Wales Great Britain	16
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Stand off
Amateur clubs
Years	Club / team
? ? ? 1961-1967 1962-? 1962-1967	Abertillery RFC Ebbw Vale RFC Pontypool RFC Newport RFC Barbarian F.C. Crawshays RFC Glamorgan Monmouthshire
National team(s)
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1963-1967 1966	Wales British Lions	21 6	(15) (12)

David Watkins MBE (born 5 March 1942 in Blaina, Wales)^[1] is a Welsh former dual-code rugby international, having played both rugby union and rugby league football for both codes' national teams between 1967 and 1983. He is the only player to have captained both the British and Irish Lions rugby union side and the Great Britain rugby league teams.^[2]

Rugby union club career

Watkins joined Newport RFC in 1961/2 from Cwmcelyn Youth but played odd games for Ebbw Vale RFC and Pontypool RFC while still a youth. He became a Wales Youth International. He made his debut for Newport against Penarth RFC on the 2nd Sept 1961.

He was vice captain of Newport under Brian Price in 1963/4 and went on to captain them for three seasons 1964/5, 1965/6 and 1966/7. He set the club dropped goal record of 14 in 1966/7, in all he scored 228 points including 55 dropped goals for Newport. He never played on the losing side for Newport at sevens. In 1967 Watkins assembled his own team to enter the first ever Glengarth Sevens at Davenport Rugby Club where he won the main competition.

In his first season with Newport RFC the team won the Welsh Championship.

Rugby union international career

Watkins made his international debut in 1963, at the age of 20 for Wales against England partnering Clive Rowlands. He was a key figure in Newport's epic win over Whineray's 1963 New Zealand All Blacks setting up position for Uzzell's drop goal and kicked a penalty to draw with Australia in 1966. He played 21 times for Wales (including the 1964/5 Triple Crown and was captain three times in 1967.

Watkins played for invitational team the Barbarians during his first season for Newport in 1962.

Watkins led the Lions in two tests in Australia in 1966.

International games played

Wales [3]
Against	Years
England	1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967
Ireland	1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967
France	1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967
New Zealand	1963
Scotland	1963, 1964, 1965, 1966
South Africa	1964

Rugby league career

In October 1967 Watkins signed to play rugby league, joining Salford for £15,000, a then club record. He was Salford's captain in 1967 and also in the Challenge Cup Final in 1969 when they were beaten by Castleford. He became their record points scorer and steered them to victory in the Lancashire Cup Final in 1972 by beating Swinton at Wilderspool, Warrington. He led Salford to the Championship in 1974.

He retired after being injured on the 1974 Australasian tour but came back to mastermind a win in the BBC2 Floodlit Cup Final against Warrington in 1975. In 1976 Salford won the Championship again but lost the play-off final to St. Helens.

His rugby league career ended in 1979 after playing for Swinton for a season. In the 1972–73 season he kicked a world record 221 goals in a season. He also holds the longest scoring run record in 92 consecutive matches for Salford from 19 August 1972 to 25 April 1974. He totalled 929 points from 41 tries and 403 goals. The record refers to scoring consecutively for one club and does not include representative matches.

Testimonial match

David Watkins Testimonial match at Salford took place in 1977.

Career Records

David Watkins is one of fewer than ten Welshmen to have scored more than 2,000 points in their rugby league career.^[4]

Captain and coach of Great Britain rugby league

Watkins played six international rugby league matches against New Zealand, Australia and France and both captained and coached Great Britain and Wales at rugby league.

Honours

• Appointed Newport RFC team manager in 1992/3 and later became the club's Chairman when he was awarded an MBE.
• In 2006 David Watkins, along with Falklands War hero Simon Weston, was installed as a patron of the Welsh Rugby League at a ceremony held in the Welsh Assembly.

Administration

He was managing director of the Cardiff City Blue Dragons. In 2009, Watkins took over the position of Crusaders president from Jonathan Davies.^[5]

References

1. ^ David Watkins rugby union profile Scrum.com
2. ^ "Gareth Thomas completes switch from union to Wales rugby league side Crusaders". telegraph.co.uk (UK: Telegraph Media Group Limited). 2010-03-05. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/wales/7376424/Gareth-Thomas-completes-switch-from-union-to-Wales-rugby-league-side-Crusaders.html. Retrieved 2010-05-02. 
3. ^ Fields of Praise, The Official History of the Welsh Rugby Union 1881-1981, David Smith, Gareth Williams (1980) pg472 ISBN 0-7803-0766-3
4. ^ Robert Gate (1988). "Gone North - Volume 2". R. E. Gate. ISBN 0-9511190-3-6
5. ^ BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/solpda/ifs_sport/hi/newsid_8145000/8145967.stm. 

External links

• Statistics at englandrl.co.uk
• Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org
• David Watkins at wru.co.uk
• David Watkins at wales.rleague.com
• Smethurst stars for Wigan
• Salford legend makes his debut
• Wasteful Wales Get A Roasting

Persondata
Name	Watkins, David
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	5 March 1942
Place of birth	Blaina, Wales
Date of death
Place of death