England U20s star will jump ship to Wales after signing for Ospreys
Former England U20s star Mat Protheroe is ready to jump ship back to Wales after it was announced that he has signed a two-year deal to join the Ospreys next season.
Despite being born in Swansea, Protheroe made his name playing for England U20s (and U18s) between 2015 and 2018, a decision that left some Welsh fans disgruntled.
The 23-year-old star however remains Welsh qualified and will look to follow in the footsteps of Ross Moriarty, who played England U20s before switching back to Wales for his senior rugby.
“Being a Welsh kid and playing rugby in Wales, the ultimate dream is to represent your country,” said Protheroe,” he told the Ospreys website.
“That is a goal of mine but to do that I have to get game-time and prove myself at the Ospreys first.”
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“So I know I have to put in back-to-back performances, week-in week-out, for the Ospreys to stand any chance of playing for Wales.
“But it’s definitely an ambition of mine to play international rugby for Wales.”
Protheroe said he was eager to make a mark in his home town team: “I am a Swansea lad and I grew up watching the Ospreys.”
It'll be a late one!https://t.co/6sIkG4OEUT
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“James Hook, Shane Williams, Tommy Bowe, Jonathan Thomas, Filo Tiatia and Lee Byrne were the players I used to turn up at the Liberty to watch as a young boy.
“I grew up watching those players. Having the chance to follow in their footsteps is a big thing for me. It’s just a really exciting challenge for me. I have never played in the Guinness Pro14, which is a new league for me, so it’s just exciting for me and I am really looking forward to the challenge.”
Protheroe won a scholarship to Hartpury College, scoring seven tries in 14 games for Hartpury RFC in National League One in England in 2015. He signed his first professional contract with Gloucester Rugby that year, before joining Bristol Bears in the RFU Championship from the 2017-18 season.
Protheroe was a standout in Pat Lam’s team, but now he’s ready to make his mark in his native Swansea.
“When I was watching the Ospreys growing up, they were always the most successful region, and were always winning trophies and fighting for trophies,” said Protheroe.
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“It’s an ambition of mine to win trophies and silverware and I always strive to do that.
“I know the Ospreys have had a tough few months, looking in from the outside but the talent pool of young and experienced players they have, I just know they can compete at the top end of Europe and on a domestic level.
“So the goal I have set myself is to win trophies.”
He is the second new signing for the Ospreys next season, following scrum-half Rhys Webb from Toulon.
Dan Griffiths, the Ospreys Rugby General Manager said of his new signing: “We are delighted to bring Mat back home, and I know how excited he is to become an Osprey,” said Griffiths.
“He is a potent attacking weapon who brings pace and x-factor, as his performances, and the tries he has scored in the Premiership this season have shown.
“But more than that, Mat is a very good footballer, with a strong kicking game and excellent distribution skills which will also create opportunities for players around him.
“It’s an exciting time for Mat, as a young, talented, ambitious player to become part of the vision of the club. He will be an excellent addition to our squad and someone who will excite fans alongside the pace and power we have in our back three.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to comments