Duncan Victor Matthews (born 24 February 1994) is a South African

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 ...

player for the in the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

. He also plays for the

Seattle Seawolves The Seattle Seawolves are an American professional rugby union team based in Tukwila, Washington. The team was founded in 2017 and competes in Major League Rugby (MLR), the top-level rugby union competition in the United States that began play ...

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...

(MLR) in the United States. He can play as a

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

, winger or

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

Rugby career

Youth rugby

Matthews was born in Atlantis and attended high school in nearby Malmesbury. From there, he was selected to represent the at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week in 2010, kicking 12 points with the boot in his two appearances.

Blue Bulls

After school, he moved to

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

to join the academy. He made ten appearances for their Under-19 side during the

2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship The 2013 ABSA Under-19 Provincial Championship will be contested from 12 July to 26 October 2013. The tournament will feature the Under-19 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa. Competition Group A There are seven part ...

, scoring tries in matches against , and during the regular season, and another one in the final to help his side win the title with a 35–23 victory over the Golden Lions. Matthews then played for – the university team affiliated to the Blue Bulls academy – in the

2014 Varsity Cup The 2014 Varsity Cup was contested from 3 February to 7 April 2014. The tournament (also known as the ''FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International'' for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-univ ...

, scoring tries against and in his four appearances. He played in eight matches for the s in the

2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship The 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship was a rugby union competition held between the Under-21 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa, plus the sub-union. It was contested from 11 July to 25 October 2014. Group A ...

, with tries in matches against and during the regular season. For the second season in a row, Matthews was the member of a title-winning team, starting the final of the competition where the Blue Bulls beat 20–10 in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. He was rewarded with a contract extension by the Blue Bulls, ensuring he would remain in Pretoria until October 2016. Matthews scored a try in a 29–all draw between UP Tuks and in the

2015 Varsity Cup The 2015 Varsity Cup was contested from 9 February to 13 April 2015. The tournament (also known as the ''FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International'' for sponsorship reasons) was the eighth season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-univ ...

in one of three starts in the competition, but suffered a knee injury that kept him out of action for the majority of the season. Despite his injury, Matthews signed a further contract extension until October 2018. He returned to make a single appearance for the s attempting to retain their Under-21 Provincial Championship title, starting a match against . His third Varsity Cup campaign saw him score two tries – against and – in five starts before making his first class debut, starting in the ' 14–19 defeat to the in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

in the

2016 Currie Cup qualification The 2016 Currie Cup qualification series was a South African rugby union competition organised by the South African Rugby Union which was played between 9 April and 23 July 2016. It featured all fourteen South African provincial unions plus the f ...

series. After a second start against the , Matthews scored his first senior try in a 38–39 defeat to in

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Duncan South African rugby union players Living people 1994 births People from the City of Cape Town Cape Coloureds Rugby union centres Rugby union wings Rugby union fullbacks Blue Bulls players Bulls (rugby union) players Lions (United Rugby Championship) players Golden Lions players Seattle Seawolves players Rugby union players from the Western Cape