David Thomas Watson (born 24 May 1966) is a New Zealand former

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who represented

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 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in the 1980s and 1990s.

Playing career

Watson began his career playing for the Waitara Bears in the

Taranaki Rugby League Taranaki Rugby League is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of Rugby league in the Taranaki region of New Zealand. The TRL are represented by the Taranaki rugby league team. They are in the Mid-Central zone along with the ...

before moving north and playing in the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is responsible for rugby league in the region, including both club and school rugby league. It began in 1910 when the fi ...

competition. Watson joined the

Manukau Magpies The Manukau Magpies are a rugby league football club based in Mangere, a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand, who compete in the Auckland Rugby League. The club was established in March 1912 after a meeting in Onehunga (where they were originally ...

and in 1986 won the ARLs most improved back award. In 1990 he signed with Hull Kingston Rovers for the 1990/91 season. He returned to England the next winter to play for the Halifax. In 1992 he began an association with

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predomi ...

that lasted three seasons. Dave Watson played in

's 15-8 defeat by

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

in the

1992–93 Regal Trophy The 1992–93 Regal Trophy was a British rugby league knockout tournament. It was the 22nd season that the competition was held, and was the fourth staging of the competition since it was re-named the Regal Trophy. Wigan defeated Bradford Northe ...

Final during the 1992–93 season at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The g ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

on Saturday 23 January 1993. In 1993 Watson returned to

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

and played in the North Island Second Division.''Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1993'', New Zealand Rugby Football League, 1993. p.p.173-174 This made him eligible to participate in the Kiwi trials that year and he was selected for the series against Australia. In 1994 Watson began playing in the Australian competition, spending time with the Cronulla Sharks, Sydney Tigers,

Gold Coast Chargers The Gold Coast Chargers were a professional rugby league club which played in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership from New South Wales Rugby League season 1988, 1988 to New South Wales Rugby League season 1994, 1994, the Australian Ru ...

and South Queensland Crushers. In 1998 he returned to England, joining the

Sheffield Eagles The Sheffield Eagles are a professional rugby league club that play in the Championship (rugby league), Betfred Championship. The club play their home games at the Olympic Legacy Park (OLP) on the former site of Don Valley Stadium, their forme ...

. In 1998 Watson, along with fellow 1989 Kiwi

Whetu Taewa Whetu Taewa (born 19 October 1970) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand six times between 1989 and 1996. Playing career New Zealand Whetu was born on the West Coast, New Zealand and started p ...

, Watson played in Sheffield Eagles' 17-8 victory over

in the

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

Final during

Super League III JJB Sports Super League III was the official name for the year 1998's Super League championship season, the 104th season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the third season played in summer. The League format changed i ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on Saturday 2 May 1998.

Representative career

Watson was a

and

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

representative before being selected to represent New Zealand Māori in the

1986 Pacific Cup The 1986 Pacific Cup was the 3rd Pacific Cup, a rugby league tournament held between Pacific teams. The tournament was hosted in the Cook Islands and eventually won by the New Zealand Māori side, who defeated Western Samoa in the final. Backgrou ...

. He again represented the Māori against Great Britain in 1990. Watson was selected for the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team (Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

in 1989. He went on to make 15 appearances for the Kiwis, his last being in the 1993 test series against Australia.Watson, David Thomas 1989 - 91, 1993 - Kiwi #612
''nzleague.co.nz''

Legacy

In 2008 he was named in the

Team of the Century.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Dave 1966 births Living people Auckland rugby league team players Balmain Tigers players Bradford Bulls players Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players Gold Coast Chargers players Halifax R.L.F.C. players Hull Kingston Rovers players Manukau Magpies players New Zealand Māori rugby league players New Zealand Māori rugby league team players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league players Rochdale Hornets players Rugby league centres Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Taranaki Sheffield Eagles (1984) players South Queensland Crushers players Taranaki rugby league team players Waitara Bears players Whitehaven R.L.F.C. players Workington Town players York Wasps players