The funeral of our former international captain Dai Watkins, will take place on Tuesday 19th September at 11.30am at St Basil’s Church in
Bassaleg.

This will then be followed by a service at the crematorium in Langstone, then on to Rodney Parade for the wake.

Please click on the link for directions to each venue.

It would mean a lot to Dai if he knew his wake was at Rodney Parade. Outside of rugby league, it was his spiritual home. He started and ended his senior rugby career at the ground, playing and scoring a try there on his Newport RFC debut against Penarth on September 2, 1961. 

And following his long rugby league career with Salford, Wales, Great Britain and Cardiff City, such was his standing in the community, he became the Newport RFC team manager in 1992, three years before the ban was lifted for any rugby league players to be involved in rugby union. He later became the club’s chairman.

Many tributes have already been paid to Dai, including one from our president Mike Nicholas, but it was writer Peter Jackson who summed him up as a person last weekend saying he was: “ever helpful, ever courteous, ever ready to find time for anyone and everyone.”

We hope to see as many people there as possible to say goodbye to such a wonderful man.