We chat to Johnny Matthews…
The club is delighted to announce the appointment of Johnny Matthews as Commercial Manager, with him being brought in to create various commercial opportunities for businesses to connect with the Watsonian Football Club community.
We are excited to have the 28-year-old on board at Myreside and everyone is looking forward to getting to know him during the coming months.
Most will already know Johnny as the Liverpool-born, Scottish-qualified hooker who plays for Glasgow Warriors - and we are really pleased that he has joined us to drive commercial revenue forward.
Johnny, a Scotland under-18 cap, first arrived in Edinburgh a few years ago when he joined our near neighbours Boroughmuir and soon became one of the most consistent performers in the Premiership.
He then earned Scotland Club XV honours and was given a chance in the pro ranks at Scotstoun by Warriors former Head Coach Dave Rennie in 2019/20 while also playing for the Boroughmuir Bears in the FOSROC Super6 first season.
Johnny has been on the books full-time with Glasgow since 2020/21 and has impressed whenever given a chance in now Head Coach Danny Wilson’s matchday 23, recently scoring a try in the European home win over Exeter Chiefs.
He lives in the capital with his fiancée Mel and took up his role with the club in December.
Johnny has spent the last few weeks getting to know how the club operates from mini rugby up to Super6 level on the pitch as well as how the club operates off it - and now he cannot wait to get his teeth into the exciting Commercial Manager post.
“I am really pleased to be coming on board with the club at a time when great things are happening at Myreside,” Johnny said.
“Even before I moved to Scotland I knew of Watsonians because of the famous players that have played at the club over the years and when I moved to Edinburgh a few years back I got to know even more about the history here because I was playing against them for Boroughmuir.
“I am honoured to join such a famous club and through my chats with Vice-President Richard Kelly, Director of Rugby Chris Hunter and David Harris, who has fulfilled a commercial role with the club for many years, I became excited about the opportunities that exist here just now.
“With a thriving mini section, a Women’s team that is one of the best in Scotland and made it to the Tennent’s Premiership final at the weekend, a Club 1st XV full of young talent, two other men’s teams, a Super6 team who have done very well since 2019 and great facilities at Myreside and Craiglockhart - including the fabulous new ‘Pavilion at Myreside’ – there are so many positive things going on here.
“The club already has some brilliant commercial partners and long-term supporters and we are very grateful to them and those relationships, but heading into 2022 we want to expand that stable of partners and that is where I come in.”
When he was at Boroughmuir, Johnny fulfilled a similar role with the Meggetland club and he is well-connected in rugby and in Edinburgh.
So, what sorts of link ups can the club offer companies who are keen to get involved?
“The great thing is that we can offer potential partners bespoke commercial packages that suit them and their own needs,” Johnny explains.
“Some companies may want to be involved with the whole club while others might want to be involved with a specific team and we can work on things to suit those requirements and budget.
“It has been a tough two years for everyone in and out of rugby, but the world is starting to open up again and, as we saw on Saturday with four WFC teams out at home and lots of familiar faces back at Myreside, there really is no better time to get involved with the club.
“The next Super6 season is just around the corner too and I’d love to chat and meet up with people who would like to have discussions about getting involved with things at WFC.
“I have had some really useful conversations with some great people in recent weeks and look forward to chatting to more going forward.”
David Harris, Head of Commercial at the club, commented: “We are delighted to strengthen our commercial team with someone of the calibre of Johnny who will help us strengthen opportunities for new and existing sponsors at Myreside.”
Should any potential commercial partners want to chat with Johnny about the options available to get involved with WFC, please email him on commercial@watsoniansrugby.com
Words by Gary Heatly
Thanks to Glasgow Warriors for the images of Johnny
