Bridport Rugby Club’s win on Saturday was doubly sweet for Mitch Waters as he captained the side on his 100th appearance for the club.
The 29-year-old scored two tries to help his side to the mammoth 57-14 win against Wimborne.
After the game, Waters was pleased with the performance but knows the team still has more to give. He said: “It was a solid performance from the whole team. Still bits to work on, but happy with the effort and attitude from the boys.”
The Welshman first joined the club in 2016 after previously playing at a high standard in his home country of Wales.
With his father, Ken Waters, picking up a cap as hooker for Wales in the 1990s, you might be surprised to hear that rugby wasn’t Mitch’s first choice of sport.
“Mitch played football in his early years,” his father Ken explained. “It was good for him to learn spatial awareness and balance running with the ball at his feet.
“He took to rugby when he was 9-10 years old. He soon settled into a position of second row or back row at his local club Cwmbran RFC.”
He went on to add: “He did have extra coaching at home in the back garden where his older brother and I would lift him in a line out and his mother would throw-in.”
With the extra practice, the Welshman’s quality soon shone through and he began to pick up caps in his county region. Ken said: “A proud moment for his mother and I was when he received his school district cap and then his Gwent district cap.
“Another was the day his brother and he played with me in a senior XV match for Caerleon RFC. He was 18, his brother 21 and I [was] 49. We won and this was a very proud day for him and for me and his brother.
“Mitch had a season at Newbridge RFC, a 1st Division side, before returning and became a regular first XV player for Caerleon RFC and was then sorely missed when he moved to Bridport, which has been their gain in my opinion.”
Since joining the Daggers, Waters has been the Swiss Army knife of the team, being versatile and able to play in all positions on the pitch.
Since the turn of the year, the Dorset side’s upturn in results has no doubt been partly due to Waters moving into the back row of the scrum.
His ability to beat the first defender and break the line has given the forwards extra punch in attack.
He is undoubtedly the only forward in the league who kicks penalties and conversions – often kicking points from the halfway line.
Waters’ highlight for the club came in the last season as he captained the team and was voted Player of the Year in their league winning campaign.
Daggers’ coach Ayorinde Fraser highlighted his player’s x-factor. He said: “He has been a player who usually makes the difference and has played across a number of positions for the team and even got involved with coaching.
“A fantastic personal milestone and here’s to getting to 200.”
