Leonard Watkins

Last updated
Leonard Watkins
Birth nameLeonard Watkins
Date of birth(1859-12-07)7 December 1859
Place of birth Abergavenny, Wales
Date of death7 February 1901(1901-02-07) (aged 41)
Place of death Chajarí, Argentina
School Sherborne School
University Exeter College, Oxford
Rugby union career
Position(s) Half-back
Amateur team(s)
YearsTeamApps(Points)
?
?
1877-1881		 Oxford University RFC
Llandaff RFC
Cardiff RFC 		()
National team(s)
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1881 Wales 1 (0)

Leonard Watkins (7 December 1859 - 7 February 1901) [1] was a Welsh international rugby union half-back who played club rugby for Cardiff Rugby Football Club and international rugby for Wales. He won just a single game for Wales when he was selected for the first Welsh rugby international.

Wales Country in northwest Europe, part of the United Kingdom

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2 (8,023 sq mi). Wales has over 1,680 miles (2,700 km) of coastline and is largely mountainous with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon, its highest summit. The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable, maritime climate.

Rugby union Team sport, code of rugby football

Rugby union, widely known simply as rugby, is a contact team sport which originated in England in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is between two teams of 15 players using an oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field with H-shaped goalposts at each end.

Cardiff RFC british rugby union football club based in Cardiff

Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after which relocating to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since.

Contents

Rugby career

Watkins was born in Abergavenny and was educated at Exeter College, Oxford. [2] While at Exeter College, he represented the Oxford University team, and in 1879 he was awarded a sporting Blue. [3] After leaving Oxford, Watkins returned to Wales, moving to Cardiff. He represented two clubs while in the Welsh capital, premier club Cardiff RFC and local rivals Llandaff.

Abergavenny town in Monmouthshire, Wales

Abergavenny is a market town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a Gateway to Wales. It is located on the A40 trunk road and the A465 Heads of the Valleys road and is approximately 6 miles (10 km) from the border with England.

Exeter College, Oxford constituent college of the University of Oxford

Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University.

The Oxford University Rugby Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Oxford. The club contests The Varsity Match every year against Cambridge University at Twickenham.

In 1881, Newport Athletic secretary and sporting entrepreneur Richard Mullock, organised a fixture between the England rugby union team and a Welsh XV. At the time Wales did not have an international team, and after the challenge was accepted by the Rugby Football Union, Mullock needed to select a team quickly. Watkins was one of four players who represented Cardiff to be selected for the team, alongside B. B. Mann, Barry Girling and William David Phillips. The Welsh team that arrived to play England at Blackheath were completely unprepared for the game; there had been no trial and most of the team were unfamiliar with each other's style of play. The game was a one-sided affair, with England humiliating Wales in an 8-goal victory. Watkins never represented his country again, [4] emigrating to Argentina later that year. [5]

Richard Mullock British rugby union administrator and referee

Richard Mullock was a Welsh sporting administrator and official, who is most notable for organising the first Welsh rugby union international game and was instrumental in the creation of the Welsh Football Union, which became the Welsh Rugby Union in 1934. Mullock came from an Anglo-Irish family; his family's firm in Wales, Henry Mullock & Son, was a printers based on Commercial Street in Newport, South Wales.

Rugby Football Union rugby union governing body of England, Guernsey and the Isle of Man

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It promotes and runs the sport, organises international matches for the England national team, and educates and trains players and officials.

Bathurst Bellers Mann was an Irish-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff and international rugby for Wales. He won a single cap for Wales, in the country's first international match.

International matches played

Wales

Bibliography

International Standard Book Number Unique numeric book identifier

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.

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References

  1. ↑ Leonard Watkins player profile Scrum.com
  2. ↑ Smith (1980), pg 40.
  3. ↑ Jenkins (1981), pg 149.
  4. ↑ Leonard Watkins player profile [ permanent dead link ] WRU website
  5. ↑ Jenkins, John M.; et al. (1991). Who's Who of Welsh International Rugby Players. Wrexham: Bridge Books. p. 163. ISBN   1-872424-10-4.
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