Stuart Watkins (born 5 June 1941) was a
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
international
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...
wing who played club rugby for
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
Europe
Ireland
*Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...
and
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...
.
Watkins began his rugby career at
Cross Keys Cross Keys or Crosskeys may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Crosskeys, Wales
** Crosskeys railway station
** Crosskeys College, a campus of Coleg Gwent
* Crosskeys Bridge, a swing bridge in Lincolnshire, England
* The Cross Keys (disambiguatio ...
before switching to Newport in 1963, staying with the club for the majority of his career. In 1970, in a dispute about training, Watkins left Newport to join rival club Cardiff.
International career
Watkins made his international debut for Wales against Scotland on 1 February 1964. Played at the
Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British ...
, it was Scotland's only defeat of the season and would be the key game in Wales winning the championship that year. Watkins would represent his country on 26 occasions, and his most notable game came against France on 26 March 1966. It was the final game of the tournament and Wales were trailing by 8 points to a team they had beaten only once in the last eight encounters.
[Godwn (1983), pg 314.] Keith Bradshaw had dragged Wales back into the game with two penalty goals when Watkins intercepted a French three quarter movement on his own 25 yard line. He raced 75 yards down the right touch line to score a memorable try that not only gave Wales the match but also the championship.
[Smith (1980), pg 378.]
In 1966, Watkins was selected to play for the
British Lions in their tour of
New Zealand and Australia. Watkins would play in three of the tests.
International games played
Wales
[Smith (1980), pg 473.]
* 1966
* 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970
* 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969
* 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970
* 1967, 1969
* 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969
British Lions
*
Australia 1966
*
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...
1966, 1966
Bibliography
*
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, Stuart
Welsh rugby union players
Wales international rugby union players
Rugby union players from Newport, Wales
1941 births
Newport HSOB RFC players
Newport RFC players
Cardiff RFC players
British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales
Barbarian F.C. players
Cross Keys RFC players
Living people
Rugby union wings