Watkin has been a regular feature for Warren Gatland's Wales team
Owen Watkin has been in and out of Wales’ squad for a number of years.
Here are a few things you should know about the star centre.
Related: Wales top try-scorer
Ten things you should know about Owen Watkin
1. Owen Watkin was born in Bridgend, Wales on 12 October 1996. He stands at 6ft 2in (1.88m) and weighs 15st 10lbs (100kg).
2. He has only played for Ospreys in his senior career and made his debut for the club in 2015.
3. Watkin won his first Wales cap in 2017 against Australia. He won the 2019 Six Nations, a Grand Slam win, with Wales.
4. Warren Gatland dropped the experienced Nick Tompkins to start Watkin against France in the 2024 Six Nations.
5. Watkin was left out of the 2023 Rugby World Cup training squad. He said of his omission to Nation.Cymru: “Being left out of the training squad was really heart-breaking and massively disappointing for me. But I think setbacks like that can motivate you even more. I didn’t let it get the better of me.
“I knew I had to put more work in, stay injury-free and just create that momentum. I feel confident at the minute, I feel like my game is going well.”
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6. He went viral during the 2021 Six Nations for a try-saving tackle on Scotland’s Duhan van der Merwe. The tackle meant the score remained 25-24 in Wales’ favour. He said via Wales Online: “It’s definitely one I will remember for a long time, but I can’t really remember too much of the actual tackle. All I remember was I was out of breath! Obviously I was happy to do my bit and help the team out.”
7. Watkin played as a fly-half before switching to his current position of centre. He told Rugby World what he likes about the centre position: “It’s the variety of things you can do in the position. You get open space where you can try things.”
8. He started playing rugby at the age of four for his local side Tondu.
9. Watkin has said on who has had an impact on his career: “Andrew James, who was my coach at Tondu all the way through. Then Peter Bradley at Bryncethin and Owain Tudor, my schoolteacher.”
10. Wales head coach Gatland has heavily praised Watkin in the past and is thought to have admired him when he was coming through the youth ranks.
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