Nigel Kevin Watts (21 October 1919 – February 17, 1995) was an Australian

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played in the 1940s.

Playing career

Watts was a schoolboy rugby union standout at St Joseph's College, going on to star for the Eastern Suburbs Rugby Union club before embarking on a brief rugby league career at

St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

during World War II. Since he had never played rugby league before, the residential rule did not apply to Watts, who was a resident of Bondi at the time. Watts served in the Australian Army during his time at the Saints,. After being discharged from the Army, he transitioned to a captain-coach role in the

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal Regions of New South Wales, region in the southeast of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast, New South Wales, South Coast region. It encompas ...

competition in 1946. He represented a combined South Coast Division representative team that defeated the touring

Great Britain national rugby league team The Great Britain national rugby league team represents Great Britain in rugby league. Administered by the Rugby Football League (RFL), the team is nicknamed The Lions. For most of the 20th century, the Great Britain team toured overseas, p ...

15–12 at

Wollongong, New South Wales Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...

on 2 June 1946.

Death

Watts died in Sydney on 17 February 1995 SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: Death Notice 20 February 1995

References

St. George Dragons players 1919 births 1995 deaths Rugby league players from Sydney Country New South Wales rugby league team players Rugby league centres Australian military personnel of World War II Australian rugby league players 20th-century Australian sportsmen {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1910s-stub