Matthews driven forward by brother she never met
WORLD Cup winner Alex Matthews has been inspired by many people in her life – but no one more so than the brother she never met.
Andrew Matthews died at the age of 16 in 1993, three weeks before his sister, who is from Camberley, was born. He had battled with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a severe form of a disease characterised by progressive muscle degeneration.
And England rugby union international Matthews has carried his memory with her on playing fields across the globe, providing a foundation for everything she has achieved. Those successes are considerable, highlighted by playing in the 2014 World Cup final when England beat Canada, and last year’s Red Roses triumph at the inaugural WXV tournament, scoring an early try as hosts New Zealand were consigned to runners-up spot.
The all-action flanker, who started her career at Camberley RFC, has won 62 caps and remains an integral part of England’s squad, with the countdown continuing to a World Cup on home soil in 2025, which will arrive a quarter of a century after she began playing rugby as the only girl in her age group.
While Matthews admits the women’s game is now unrecognisable in terms of its profile from those early days, the impact made by her brother will never change.
“He was diagnosed at the age of four, by the age of 10 he was in a wheelchair and he passed away when he was 16, three weeks before I was born,” Matthews told the PA news agency. “I never got to meet him, but I hear a lot about him and that is a big driver behind what I do. All he wanted to do was kick a football around.
“When I am driving to big games, he pops into my head, and I have those little moments of, ‘you know what, just go and enjoy it, no pressure. I am in a privileged place, so just go and enjoy it. That’s why you do what you do.’”
Matthews has always been keen to help others, working as a part-time carer while at university, when she looked after a young girl who had muscular dystrophy and autism.
And she is an ambassador for Heart Heroes, a charity that supports children and families affected by lifelong heart conditions.
Like her sister Fran, who also represented England at 15s and sevens, Matthews knew from a young age that rugby was what she wanted to do as a career, even if at that time it appeared an impossible dream.
“I remember walking home from school one day with a friend and we were talking about what we would do when we were older,” she said.
“I said, ‘I would love to be a rugby player, but it is never going to happen in my lifetime.’ To have that outlet at such a young age about something you wanted to do and you thought it wouldn’t be possible, to then be one of the first to get a full-time contract from the Rugby Football Union, was pretty special.
“I saw men being able to do it and in my head I thought, ‘Why can’t I?’
“I would definitely not be where I am without Fran. We had that competitive nature and she was a training freak, so watching her and learning how to train properly was a huge thing.”
Matthews’ career has spanned a time when sparse crowds were the norm for women’s rugby, to the Six Nations finale against France at Twickenham last season that was watched by a world record attendance for a women’s Test match of just under 60,000.
And, with England hosting the next World Cup, 30-year-old Matthews is likely to have plenty of exciting times left on her impressive sporting journey.
“It is only a short coach journey to Twickenham,” she added. “You see in the men’s game people running out of the pubs cheering and it was just like that for us. It was really emotional.
“You remembered when it was just your friends and family who came and watched, and realised it was so many supporters who want their children – boys and girls – to be inspired by us.”