Matthew Jason Watkins (2 September 1978 – 7 March 2020) was a Welsh 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 as a

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

. He was commonly known by the name Matthew J. Watkins to avoid confusion with another Welsh rugby union player of the same name. Born in

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

, Watkins began his rugby career with Newbridge and

Pontllanfraith Pontllanfraith () is a large village and Community (Wales), community located in the Sirhowy Valley in Caerphilly County Borough, Wales, within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire. It is ...

before going professional with

in 1997. After scoring 35 tries (175 points) in 121 appearances over five seasons with the club, Watkins was signed by

Llanelli ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...

. He was then part of the team at the dawn of regional rugby in Wales in 2003 and was part of the original

Llanelli Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby com ...

regional side. He was also called up to the Wales national team several times during his spell with the Scarlets, earning 18 caps between 2003 and 2006. By 2007, he had become only the third player to reach 100 appearances for the region, following lock Adam Jones and prop John Davies. Watkins signed for

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

at the end of the 2007–08 season, midway through a three-year contract with the Scarlets. On 3 August 2009, it was confirmed that Watkins would return to Wales and to the place where his professional rugby career began, signing for Newport Gwent Dragons on a two-year contract. He was released at the end of the 2010–11 season and retired soon after. On 20 May 2013, it was announced that Watkins had developed a very rare pelvic cancer while studying for rugby coaching qualifications, but described himself as remaining "well and active". On 7 March 2020, it was announced that Watkins had died at the age of 41.

References

External links

Wales profileNewport Gwent Dragons profileGloucester profileNewport RFC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, Matthew 1978 births 2020 deaths Rugby union players from Newport, Wales Rugby union centres Welsh rugby union players Wales international rugby union players Place of death missing Newport RFC players Llanelli RFC players Scarlets players 21st-century Welsh sportsmen Gloucester Rugby players Dragons RFC players People educated at Oakdale Comprehensive School