Matthew Silva - Full-back
Wales RLHeritage No | 354 |
Date Of Birth | 15/03/1970 |
Place Of Birth | Cardiff |
Clubs | Llantwit Major, Rumney, Pontypool, Cardiff, West Hartlepool, Newbridge, Halifax Panthers, Newport, Treorchy |
Honours | Wales RL |
Managed | RGC 1404, Bridgend Ravens, Cardiff South U16, Rumney, Beddau, Llantwit Major |
With just seven minutes on the field for Wales, Matthew Silva is one of the capped players to have played the shortest length of time for Wales. He started off in local rugby union in Cardiff, playing for the local city clubs St Albans and Llandaff. After a handful of games for Newport, he played for Pontypool. He represented Wales RU at Under-19s, Under-21s, and Wales 'B'. He also played for Pontypool RFC against the touring All Blacks in 1989. He turned professional in 1991 with Halifax aged 21. However less than a year after he had moved, he broke his leg in the defeat by Salford in the Second Division Premiership Trophy Final at Old Trafford. The coach who signed him, Peter Roe left and the one who followed, Roger Millward, said he was surplus to requirements. From earning a good £500 a week, Silva found himself in the second team on £50 for a win and £20 for a loss. He was put on the transfer list but he decided to cut his losses, quit rugby and return to Wales, but unable to play because of the ban on professional players. When rugby union became open in 1995, he signed for Newbridge. After spells with West Hartlepool, Cardiff, Treorchy, Rumney and Llantwit Major, he retired aged 39. By that time, he was also the coach of Llantwit Major. He later went on to coach Rumney RFC of the WRU Division One East league, and while backs coach of the Cardiff Blues, their Under-16s, Under-16, Under-18, and team Under-20s. He also coached Old Illtydians RFC, a feeder club of the Blues and his former high school team. From 2005 to 2013, he was the Welsh Rugby Union/Cardiff Blues Player Development Officer for the Vale of Glamorgan. From 2013 to 2015, he was Director of Rugby at Cowbridge Comprehensive School and was responsible for establishing the Rugby Academy that competes in the Welsh Rugby Union National Colleges League. In 2015, he became the Welsh Rugby Union and Ospreys Coach Development Officer. In May 2016, Silva was appointed as the new coach of Bridgend Ravens, staying there for three seasons before taking charge of RGC 1404 for a few months.
SEASON | P | W | D | L | TRY | GOALS | DG | PTS | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1991-1992 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
TOTAL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Note: The statistics tab shows all of the player’s known appearances for this particular Wales side against international sides or other non-capped recognised first class matches. To see exactly how many full test rugby league caps for Wales (or any other country) that this player has, please click the “Test Summary” tab. Nines individual player records are not shown, please click here for full details about Nines. Please also note that clubs’ current names are used throughout this website, due to the database only being able to feed one name per club (e.g. Wigan will also be known as Wigan Warriors throughout all player profiles).