David Watkins RIP

[Gomersall]

https://x.com/walesrugbyl/status/1698361845902373321?s=61&t=M7heKyGUQ6aCihEBfA8Sew

[Phil]

One of the all time greats rip 

[Damien]

Before my time but he is one of those legendary names of RL and his record speaks for itself. RIP.

[Gomersall]

Not a bad CV.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Watkins_(rugby)

[sentoffagain2]

   Sad news he was a fantastic player.Excellent kicking out of his hands drop goals or place kicking.He used to summarise on the Scrumdown programme.Would often wander round the ground before a game to get a feel of the area.The Salford side he played in was one of the best the club have had.

[tonyXIII]

A giant of the game at a time of true giants. The first super star I ever watched live. RIP Dai Watkins.

[OMEGA]

Very sad news

RiP David Watkins

A genuinely GREAT player

[johnh1]

That side in the late 60's early 70's was the side I grew up with and gave me my love for the game. So many of that side have now, sadly left us. Dixon, Hesketh, Coulman, Prescott and now Watkins.  My abiding memory of the genius that was David Watkins? His debut try against Oldham at The Willows. A brilliant, diagonal, stepping run from inside his own half to score in the corner. 

RIP David Watkins

[Red Willow]

My first rugby hero. I have a picture of the league winning team signed by Dai and Keith Fielding. A genuine nice bloke off the pitch too. 

[Anita Bath]

Nothing that man couldnt do. A magician with the ball in hand or on foot.

[Gooleboy]

What a great player for both codes, but an absolute promoter of RL. Fond imemories of getting in on a Sunday night and watching Scrumdown with him commentating alongside John Helm. RIP David.

[Pigeon Lofter]

David Watkins was the biggest star in the star-studded team that Brian Snape put together in that golden age of dominance in the 1970s. The Willows was a glamorous place, the football greats from United and City turned up under the floodlights on Friday nights, it was the place to be seen for the Manchester glitterati.  Salford were the attraction on the pitch and it was Watkins who provided the magic. He was as big, or bigger, than many of the show business stars who would top the bill later in the night at the variety club behind the posts, and that's saying something.

He was one of the first kickers to use the "round the corner" style of goal kicking, the straight line toe poke was in fashion before he came along. Other teams would kick goal-line drop outs or 25 yard drop kick restarts as far as possible, but Watkins had such skill and control he would go short every time and Salford were experts at regaining possession.

I remember a quotation in the press a few decades ago, Watkins used to get battered in the tackle and the opponents used to say " twinkle twinkle little star, we don't give a ###### who you are" as they piled on. 

I remember watching him at Oldham in a Tuesday night game at Watersheddings, he kicked goal after goal from way out on the touchline, the ball soaring over the sticks at an unimaginable height. He was imperious, a rugby genius, a wizard. The best goal kicker I have ever seen.

RIP to a once-in-a-lifetime talent.

 

 

[StandOffHalf]

RIP to a legend of the game.

I've seen highlights, interviews, tributes and a short film about him.

He was an exceptional talent.

[moorside roughyed]

Before my time, but I have heard his name mentioned on quite a few occasions. I've just looked at his career on Wikipedia. Wow,what a career. RIP David Watkins. A giant of both codes.

[DG70]

Privileged to watch him play at Salford in that fantastic team in the 70s, a gentleman off the pitch and a rugby legend on the pitch, a true great of the game.

[fighting irish]

I'm pleased to say, i sat in the grandstand at the end of the ground (as a 16 year old boy) and watched him break the world record for the number of kicks goaled in a season. I think the opposition that day was Rochdale Hornets.

That achievement, the performance of the team, the power, skill and athleticism on show was truly inspirational and cemented in, my love of the game for the rest of my life.

Many years later, he accepted an invitation to play in an ''All Stars'' rugby league team, to play against Aberavon RL club in a charity benefit match, in support of one of our injured players at the Green Stars rugby field.

A quietly spoken, gentlemanly sportsman, generous to a fault and an absolute genius with the ball in his hands or at his feet. 

Edited September 4, 2023 by fighting irish

[ivans82]

Remember seeing him many times , the thing that always struck me was his balance . He didn`t so much sidestep as just change direction without effort of either foot. Always looked calm and in control .A true Gentleman as well .  RIP David .

[Padge]

In my early years watching RL l can't remember how many times I heard  "oh no Watkins is playing", but every time we played Sajford and he did, I did.

Fantastic player RIP David.

[WSCR]

From his first match for Salford to his last David was the supreme Rugby League player and anyone who has seen him play the game has been very privileged to have witnessed this genius of a Rugby League player.

RIP David

[daz39]

Along with John Helm, the voice of my RL teenage years on Scrumdown, his voice describing the try on the replays with the background music is one of my evocative memories in my early years following the sport.

Never got to see him as a player but i am obviously aware of his outstanding career.

RIP David.

[idrewthehaggis]

Great fondness for the man. Just before my time but I recognize Watkins is a huge part of SRD's story and deserves his place in the Pantheon not just at Solly, or even in the city of Salford or Cymru  but in the Sport too.

A cherished memory from the past.

Hopefully an inspiration for the future at Salford.

Edited September 4, 2023 by idrewthehaggis

[Thunder Road]

Rip Dai 

[Wolford6]

1. I'd seen David Watkins before, but I might have seen him in his last game of rugby union. I was a Pontypool fan and went to the Arms Park for the 1967 Snelling Sevens tournament. Newport (deadly rivals) won it and he was the star of the show. At the end of the final, he was mobbed by dozens of schoolkids wanting his autograph. He stayed on the field and signed them all.

2. I watched him play for all three of his RL clubs. At Salford, he was electric. At the end, he was obviously playing for fun; he'd lost all his speed and was well overweight. However, he had a class and pass that never left him. His kicking out of hand  was unhurried and efficient.

3. (I've posted this before) An associate of mine went to a sportsman's dinner. David Watkins was the guest speaker. DW said that one of his team-mates had sometimes been referred to in the press as being "Temperamental". This was accurate because he was 50% temper and 50% mental!

4. If I believed in God, I'd think that there was divine intervention in the WRU 2023-2024 Welsh Premiership fixture list. On the day David died, the opening games included Newport versus Pontypool. The fixture was dedicated to him.

Newport won, probably still pinching our players.

Edited September 5, 2023 by Wolford6

[Wolford6]

David Watkins was under pressure for his Wales RU place in 1967. It's hard to believe, but his rivals were Barry John and Phil Bennett. All would have been offered a fortune at the time to play Rugby League. David reportedly went to Salford for £16000.

Via Google: £16,000 in 1967 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £371,557.37 in 2023. He'll have had a job offer as well, though I dont know what it was.