Elgar Watts
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Elgar Graeme Watts (born 24 September 1985) is a South African professional
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
player who played for the , , and domestically and for the and the in
Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
. His usual position is
fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16†...
.


Career


Maties

Watts started his career playing rugby for
University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch University (SU) (, ) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Sahara ...
side , representing them at the 2006 National Club Championships held in
Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronouncing Gazetteer.
Thomas Baldwin ...
.


Boland Cavaliers

Watts made his first class debut in 2008 for
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
-based side , coming on as a replacement in their first match in the
2008 Vodacom Cup The 2008 Vodacom Cup was played between 22 February and 16 May 2008 and was the 11th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. This edition of the Vodacom Cup was played between the fourteen provincial rugby union teams in South Africa f ...
against the . Just a quarter of an hour into his debut, he scored his first points for the Cavaliers, kicking a drop goal in the 78th minute to help his side to a 31–22 victory. He also played off the bench in their second match of the campaign, a 29–25 victory over the in
Potchefstroom Potchefstroom ( ; ), colloquially known as Potch, is an college town, academic city in the North West (South African province), North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstro ...
before making his first start for his side in a 45–7 win over the , kicking five conversions in that match. He also started their remaining four matches in the round-robin stage of the competition, scoring a further 12 points to help the Cavaliers finish in third spot on the Southern Section log to qualify for a quarter final match away to the . He started that match as fly-half, but could not prevent Free State running out 35–20 winners to eliminate Boland from the competition. Watts made his
Currie Cup The Currie Cup () is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, four South African franc ...
debut two months later, starting the Boland Cavaliers' first match of the
2008 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2008 Currie Cup Premier Division season (known as the ABSA Currie Cup due to sponsorship) was contested from 20 June through to 25 October. The Currie Cup is an annual domestic competition for provincial rugby union teams in South Africa. T ...
, a 48–42 win over the in
Brakpan Brakpan is a mining town on the East Rand of Gauteng, South Africa, approximately 38 kilometres (23.6 mi) east of Johannesburg. History The name Brakpan comes from a small pan on a farm called Weltevreden, which was filled with very brackish water ...
. He started 11 of their 14 matches during the season and played off the bench in a further two matches. He scored his first senior try in their Round Four match against the in a 17–57 defeat and also converting his own try. He scored further tries against the , the and the to help the Cavaliers finish seventh (and second-last) on the log. This meant that they had to play in a relegation play-off match against the side that finished second on the
2008 Currie Cup First Division The 2008 Absa Currie Cup First Division season was contested from 27 June through to 10 October. The Currie Cup is an annual domestic competition for provincial rugby union teams in South Africa. History * The Absa Currie Cup First Division, ...
log,
Welkom Welkom () is a city in the Free State (province), Free State province of South Africa, located about northeast of Bloemfontein, the provincial capital. Welkom is also known as Circle City, City Within A Garden, Mvela and Matjhabeng. The city' ...
-based side the . Watts scored four tries and kicked one conversion in the first leg of the play-off to set up a 54–15 win for the side from Wellington; they remained in the Premier Division for 2009 despite a 42–50 loss in the second leg of the play-off. Watts didn't feature in the 2009 Vodacom Cup competition, but returned to action for Boland in the
2009 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2009 Absa Currie Cup Premier Division season was the 71st season in the competition since it started in 1889. The competition was contested from 10 July through to 31 October. It was won by the Blue Bulls, who defeated the Free State Cheet ...
. He started 13 of their 14 matches and came on as a replacement in their final match of the season against the . He contributed 13 points during the season with the boot as the Cavaliers had a very disappointing season, finishing last on the log with just one victory all season, a 26–18 defeat of the on the opening day of the season. This meant they had to participate in another relegation play-off, this time against the . Despite winning the first leg 36–35, they lost the second leg 3–40 in
Witbank Witbank (), officially eMalahleni, is a city situated on the Highveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa, within the Emalahleni Local Municipality, Mpumalanga, Emalahleni Local Municipality. The name Witbank is Afrikaans for "white ridge", and is named ...
to be relegated to the First Division for 2010.


Pumas

Watts remained in the Premier Division of the Currie Cup, as he joined the team that replaced the Boland Cavaliers in that division,
Witbank Witbank (), officially eMalahleni, is a city situated on the Highveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa, within the Emalahleni Local Municipality, Mpumalanga, Emalahleni Local Municipality. The name Witbank is Afrikaans for "white ridge", and is named ...
-based outfit the . He started the Pumas' first two matches of the
2010 Vodacom Cup The 2010 Vodacom Cup was contested from 26 February to 7 May. The 2010 Vodacom Cup is the 13th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup The Vodacom Cup was an annual rugby union competition in South Africa. Annual Vod ...
competition, a 52–17 win over the and a 15–29 defeat to the . He was used as a replacement for the remainder of the competition, playing off the bench on four occasions as the Pumas finished fifth on the log to miss out on a quarter final spot. However, Watts was very much a key player in their
2010 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2010 Absa Currie Cup Premier Division was the 72nd season in the competition since it started in 1889. The competition was contested from 9 July through to 30 October. It was won by the , who defeated 30–10 in the final at . Patrick La ...
campaign; he featured in all fourteen of their matches, starting eleven of those. He came on as a late replacement in their Round One 15–38 defeat to the , but started their second match against the – he contributed 27 points in this match, scoring a hat-trick of tries, three conversions and two penalties in a 37–32 victory. Over the course of the season, he helped them to further victories against the , the return match against the Leopards and the as the Pumas finished seventh in the competition. Watts finished the season as the top scorer for the Pumas with 104 points, which consisted of nine tries, 16 conversions and nine penalties. He scored a try and a conversion against the in a 36–36 draw in the first leg of their relegation play-off match and also started the second leg, where a 46–28 victory for the Pumas ensured they remained in the Currie Cup Premier Division in 2011.


Return to Boland Cavaliers

Watts returned to Wellington for 2011 to rejoin the . He was included in the
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
squad, but failed to make an appearance. Instead, he started all seven of the ' matches in the
2011 Vodacom Cup The 2011 Vodacom Cup was contested from 25 February to 13 May 2011. The tournament was the 14th edition of the Vodacom Cup, an annual domestic South African rugby union competition, and was played between the fourteen provincial teams in South ...
competition. He scored tries against
Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...
n side and against the as the Boland Cavaliers finished sixth on the log, three log points off a quarter final spot. After playing in a compulsory friendly match against
Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...
rivals in June 2011, he featured in the most high-scoring season of his career; he scored 185 points in twelve appearances in the
2011 Currie Cup First Division The 2011 Currie Cup First Division was contested from 15 July to 14 October 2011. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup First Division for sponsorship reasons) was the second tier of the 73rd season of the Currie Cup, an annual rugby un ...
to finish as the top scorer in the competition. He set the tone in their opening match, kicking nine conversions and two penalties in a 69–12 victory over the . His best personal haul came in their 47–29 win over the , scoring a try, five conversions and four penalties for a personal tally of 27 points. The Boland Cavaliers won nine of their ten matches during the regular season – the only defeat being a 17–23 loss to the – to finish top of the log and secure a home semi-final against the Griffons. Watts scored a try, six conversions and a penalty in a 50–20 win and also contributed 12 points in the final, a 43–12 victory over the Eastern Province Kings to help them win the First Division title for the second time in their history. Due to the Premier Division being reduced from eight teams to six for 2012, there was no possibility of promotion to that league. Watts scored 49 points in his seven appearances – all with the boot – during the
2012 Vodacom Cup The 2012 Vodacom Cup was played between 10 March and 18 May 2012 and was the 15th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup is played between rugby union teams in South Africa from the Currie Cup Premier and First Division ...
competition, again just missing out on the play-offs by finishing fifth, with
Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...
side edging them out on points differential after they finished level on 21 log points. In June 2012, he was also named as the starting fly-half for a South African Barbarians (South) team that played against during their 2012 tour of South Africa. Watts kicked three conversions in a 26–54 defeat in
Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...
. Watts started nine of the Boland Cavaliers' fourteen matches during the season, with a thigh injury ruling him out of five matches. He still finished the season as his side's top scorer with 115 points, sixth overall in the competition. It turned out to be a disappointing season for the defending champions as they finished in sixth spot in the competition to miss out on the play-off altogether. Watts left Boland Cavaliers at the end of the 2012 season, having scored 445 points in 75 matches in his two separate spells in Wellington, making him the fifth-highest points scorer in the team's history.


Free State Cheetahs / Cheetahs

Watts made the move to
Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...
to join the prior to the
2013 Super Rugby season The 2013 Super Rugby season was the third season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition involving teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The tournament was won by the Chiefs, who defeated the Canberra-based Brumbi ...
. He was named on the bench for their first match of the season against the , but was an unused replacement in their 22–29 defeat, before dropping out of their matchday squads altogether, with Johan Goosen, Burton Francis and
Riaan Smit Adriaan Jacobus "True Blue" Smit (born 28 April 1984) is a South African rugby union professional footballer. He can operate in several positions in the back-line but usually plays as a fly-half or fullback. Career Smit currently represents ...
ahead of him in the pecking order. He made two appearances for a in the
2013 Vodacom Cup The 2013 Vodacom Cup was played between 9 March and 18 May 2013 and was the 16th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup is played between provincial rugby union teams in South Africa from the Currie Cup Premier and Fi ...
, starting in their 26–25 victory over the in
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and their 32–38 defeat to the in
Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronouncing Gazetteer.
Thomas Baldwin ...
. He was again named on the bench for the Cheetahs in their Round Eleven
Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
match against the and he made his Super Rugby debut by coming on as a second-half replacement. After another appearance off the bench against the which saw him score his first Super Rugby points by kicking two conversions and a penalty in a 34–39 defeat, Watts was elevated to the starting line-up for their match against the and contributed 17 points (through five penalties and a conversion) in a 27–13 victory. He contributed 14 points in his side's 34–22 victory over the in his second start a week later, but reverted to the bench for the remainder of the competition, making appearances against the and the to help the Cheetahs qualify for the
play-off stage The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
of the competition for the first time in their history. He was an unused replacement in their 13–15 defeat to the in
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
in the qualifier. Watts was the undisputed first choice fly-half for the in the
2013 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 75th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 10 August to 26 October 2013. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) wa ...
, starting all eleven of their matches during the competition. He shared the kicking duties with right winger
Riaan Smit Adriaan Jacobus "True Blue" Smit (born 28 April 1984) is a South African rugby union professional footballer. He can operate in several positions in the back-line but usually plays as a fly-half or fullback. Career Smit currently represents ...
, contributing 63 points which included four tries to finish as the Cheetahs' second-highest scorer behind Smit who scored 70. The Free State Cheetahs finished the season in third spot on the log to qualify for the semi-finals, but lost at that stage of the competition against eventual champions the , going down 22–33 in a match in Durban. Watts moved up the pecking order for the
2014 Super Rugby season The 2014 Super Rugby season is the fourth season of the 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition involving teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. For sponsorship reasons, this competition is known as Asteron Life Super Rugby ...
, being named the regular replacement for first-choice fly-half Johan Goosen. Watts started three matches against the , and and played off the bench on ten occasions. In total, he contributed 49 points – the second-highest by a Cheetahs player behind Goosen – which also included his first Super Rugby try in a match against the in a 33–43 defeat in
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
. In July 2014, he was rewarded with a contract extension, committing him to the Cheetahs until 2016. However, he made just two appearances in the
2014 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 76th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 9 August to 25 October 2014. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) is ...
– against the in
Nelspruit Mbombela, formerly Nelspruit, is a city in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province. Located on the Crocodile River, the city lies about by road west of the Mozambique border, east of Johannesburg and north of ...
and in Bloemfontein – before suffering a knee injury which ruled him out of the remainder of the campaign and the entire
2015 Super Rugby season The 2015 Super Rugby season was the 20th season of Super Rugby and the fifth season featuring an expanded 15-team format. For sponsorship reasons, this competition was known as Asteron Life Super Rugby in Australia, Investec Super Rugby in New ...
.


Griffons

Upon returning to fitness, he was loaned to the and he made one appearance for the
Welkom Welkom () is a city in the Free State (province), Free State province of South Africa, located about northeast of Bloemfontein, the provincial capital. Welkom is also known as Circle City, City Within A Garden, Mvela and Matjhabeng. The city' ...
-based side, scoring 12 points consisting of a try, two conversions and a penalty in a 25–21 victory over the in the
2015 Currie Cup qualification The 2015 Currie Cup qualification tournament was a competition organised by the South African Rugby Union which featured seven teams and was played between 12 June and 25 July 2015. The winner of the tournament would qualify for the 2015 Currie ...
competition.


Eastern Province Kings

In June 2015, he was released from his contract with the to join the
Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...
-based prior to the
2015 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 77th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 7 August to 24 October 2015. The tournament (known as the Absa Group Limited, Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for spon ...
, signing a deal until October 2017.


References


External links

*
itsrugby.co.uk Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, Elgar South African rugby union players Living people 1985 births Boland Cavaliers players Pumas (Currie Cup) players Free State Cheetahs players Cheetahs (rugby union) players Rugby union players from Paarl Rugby union fly-halves Southern Kings players 21st-century South African sportsmen