David Joseph Matthews (17 April 1937 – 19 June 2019) was an English

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School 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 m ...

flanker who played a record 502 games for

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

from 1955 to 1974 as well as for

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

, Midlands Counties (East) and the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

. At Leicester he was also a coach, director and was a life member.

Playing career

Matthews joined Tigers direct from

Oakham School (Like runners, they pass on the torch of life) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , president ...

making his debut as an 18 year old on 3 September 1955 against

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

at Welford Road. He took a while to establish himself in the club's first team playing only 9 matches over the next 2 seasons but became a regular in the 1957/58 season playing 32 games. Between 1961 and 1963 Matthews played in a record 109 successive games, including every game of 1961/62 and 1962/63 seasons. Matthews was the club's leading try scorer in 1962/63 with 11 tries and set a record for a forward in 1968/69 when he scored 21 tries in 43 games, this was Matthews third ever present season a club record. Matthews was club captain from 1965–1968. Matthews scored his 100th club try against

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

at the

Memorial Ground The Memorial Stadium, also commonly known by its previous name of the Memorial Ground, is a sports ground in Bristol, England, and is the home of Bristol Rovers F.C. It opened in 1921 dedicated to the memory of local rugby union players killed d ...

on 5 April 1969 and ended his career with 119 tries; a record for a forward until

Neil Back Neil Antony Back MBE (born 16 January 1969) is a former international rugby union footballer for England and the British & Irish Lions who also played for Nottingham RFC, Leicester Tigers, and captained both England and Leicester during his ca ...

broke it in 2005. He broke the club's all-time appearance record against

Broughton Park Broughton is a suburb and district of Salford, City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, on the east bank of the River Irwell, it is northwest of Manchester and south of Prestwich. Historically in Lancashire, Broughton was a township ...

on 21 April 1973 with his 492-game and became the only player to make 500 appearances when he played against

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

on 23 February 1974. Matthews played in three England trials in 1965–67 without gaining a cap but did face

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and, despite anti-apartheid protests, against the

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

with Midlands Counties (East). Matthews' career lasted 18 years and 187 days, spanning 779 Tigers games in 19 seasons. On both counts this is the second longest Tigers career after

Graham Willars Graham George Willars known as Graham Willars (20 November 1939 - 20 September 1997) was an English rugby union flanker who played a 338 games for Leicester Tigers from 1959 to 1987, he also coached the side from 1982–87 and was club pres ...

. In February 2011 Matthews was named 56th in Leicestershire's 100 Sporting Greats by the ''

Leicester Mercury The ''Leicester Mercury'' is a British regional newspaper for the city of Leicester and the neighbouring counties of Leicestershire and Rutland. The paper began in the 19th century as the ''Leicester Daily Mercury'' and later changed to its pre ...

''.

Coaching and administration career

Matthews was first team coach at Tigers from 1988–91 leading the side to the final of the 1988-89 Pilkington Cup, where the side lost to

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. In 1997 Matthews became a non-executive director of

serving until retiring in 2007. From 2001–03 Matthews was club president and in 2005 was awarded life membership.

Sources

Farmer,Stuart & Hands, David ''Tigers-Official History of Leicester Football Club'' (The Rugby DevelopmentFoundation )
M for Mathews

References

1937 births 2019 deaths English rugby union players Leicester Tigers players Rugby union flankers Rugby union players from Rutland {{England-rugbyunion-bio-stub