Johnny Matthews

Johnny Matthews took a longer road to professional rugby than most, and the hooker, born on 5 July 1993, has made the most of his opportunity at Glasgow Warriors. He arrived in Scotland via the English club game and turned himself into one of the most productive forwards in the United Rugby Championship. His reputation rests on an unusual specialism: scoring tries from close range. Matthews has an exceptional feel for the driving maul, timing his detachment and the final surge to the line with a consistency that has produced remarkable try tallies for a front-rower, including a season of scoring that ranked among the most prolific by any forward in the competition. There is more to his game than that. He is a reliable set-piece operator whose throwing holds up under pressure, and his workrate around the park reflects a player who came into the professional environment having had to prove himself repeatedly. That form earned international recognition, with Matthews adding a Scotland cap to a career that few would have predicted a decade earlier. At Glasgow he remains a valued figure, both for the points he generates from forward pressure and for the durability he brings to the front row.