Leonard Watkins
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox rugby biography
| name = Leonard Watkins
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name = Leonard Watkins
| birth_date = {{birth date|1859|12|7|df=y}}
| birth_place = Abergavenny, Wales
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1901|2|7|1859|12|7|df=yes}}
| death_place = ChajarÃ, Argentina
| height =
| weight =
| position = Half-back
| amatyears1 =
| amatyears2 =
| amatyears3 = 1877-1881
| amatteam1 = Oxford University RFC
| amatteam2 = Llandaff RFC
| amatteam3 = Cardiff RFC
| ru_amclubcaps =
| ru_amclubpoints =
| ru_amupdate =
| repteam1 = Wales
| repyears1 = 1881
| repcaps1 = 1
| reppoints1 = 0
| ru_ntupdate =
| coachteams1 =
| coachyears1 =
| ru_coachupdate =
| school = Sherborne School
| university = Exeter College, Oxford
}}
Leonard Watkins (7 December 1859 - 7 February 1901)[http://www.espnscrum.com/wales/rugby/player/557.html Leonard Watkins player profile] Scrum.com 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.
Rugby career
Watkins was born in Abergavenny and was educated at Exeter College, Oxford.Smith (1980), pg 40. While at Exeter College, he represented the Oxford University team, and in 1879 he was awarded a sporting Blue.Jenkins (1981), pg 149. 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.
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,[https://archive.today/20110526175054/http://www.wru.co.uk/12750_14256.php?player=31875&includeref=dynamic Leonard Watkins player profile] WRU website emigrating to Argentina later that year.{{cite book |last=Jenkins |first=John M. |title=Who's Who of Welsh International Rugby Players |year=1991 |publisher=Bridge Books |location=Wrexham|page=163 |isbn=1-872424-10-4|display-authors=etal}}
=International matches played=
Wales
- {{ru|ENG}} 1881
Bibliography
- {{cite book |last=Jenkins |first=Vivian |title=Rothmans Rugby Yearbook 1981-82 |year=1981 |publisher=Rothmans Publications Ltd|location=Aylesbury |isbn=0-907574-05-X}}
- {{cite book |last=Smith |first=David |author2=Williams, Gareth |title=Fields of Praise: The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union |year=1980 |publisher=University of Wales Press |location=Cardiff |isbn=0-7083-0766-3 }}
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, Leonard}}
Category:Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford
Category:People educated at Sherborne School
Category:Oxford University RFC players
Category:Rugby union players from Abergavenny
Category:Wales international rugby union players