Name Wallace Watts | Height 1.82 m | |
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Died April 29, 1950, Richmond, United Kingdom | ||
Wallace Howard Watts (25 March 1870 – 29 April 1950) was an English-born international rugby union player who played club rugby for Newport and international rugby for Wales. Watts was part of the 1893 Wales team which won the country's first Triple Crown. From 1892 Watts played for county team Gloustershire.
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Rugby career
Watts first played for Newport in the 1889/90 season, but it took until the 1892 Home Nations Championship for him to be chosen for the Welsh national team. Although an Englishman by birth, the rules of nationality were more lax during the period, with three years residency required to represent your adopted country. Watts was one of three new caps in the pack for his first game, alongside Arthur Boucher and Frank Mills, but the campaign was disastrous for the Welsh losing all three games in the tournament, collecting the wooden spoon.
The next year saw a complete turnaround in Welsh fortunes when, under the captaincy of Arthur Gould the team won all three games, taking the Triple Crown. Watts played in all three games and continued to represent Wales over the next three Championships, but never to the level of success as in 1893. His final game was the first match of the 1896 Championship, a massive 25-0 loss.
In 1896, Watts moved to London and began playing for London exiles London Welsh, though he still represented Newport whenever he returned to Wales. He played for London Welsh until 1911, into his forties. He became Honorary Secretary of the club during the 1912/13 season. Watts' son, DRW Watts, a civil engineer and MD of George Wimpey Construction subsequently became Chairman of London Welsh in the late 1960s.
International matches played
Wales