The Vikings are delighted to announce the re-signing of Wales international hooker Matty Fozard on a two-year deal, keeping him with the club up until the end of the 2025 season.
In his second season at the club, ‘Foz’ – proudly sponsored by Emris Services – was one of the first names on the team sheet, playing 29 games and starting all but four of those in the number 9 jersey he’s made his own.
Keeping Matty under contract for the next two years has also been made possible by the help of WidnesVIPS, a fan-run independent fundraising scheme which helps the club in all sorts of ways!
After a year in which he also scored three tries, Foz spoke with Widnes Vikings Media, saying “I think I’ve played some of my best rugby in 2023, particularly at the start of the season, but as a team I think we really underachieved in the end.”
“We need to strive for bigger and better things, and with the experience we’ve now got in and around the squad, there’s no reason we can’t right the wrongs of the past two seasons.”
Coming into his prime years at hooker, Foz is also looking forward to being part of a new-look Vikings’ pack in 2024. “Playing in such a central position means it’s crucial to have front-foot ball and drive the team on. We’re going to have some big, strong forwards next season and that’ll only help me as I try to help the team from dummy-half.”
Currently training in Wales camp, Matty has featured in two World Cups for the Dragons
“I always look forward to Wales camp every single year, it’s a completely different environment to the club game and the experience you get from playing in World Cups against the very best players is huge, and hopefully I can bring some of that experience to help new players to adapt within our squad.”
With a new head coach and assistant in Allan Coleman and Thomas Wood respectively for 2024, Foz is excited to see what the future holds. “I’ve no doubt that Allan can crack this team. Despite the disappointment, we have plenty of positives to take from last season, and anything less than the play-offs this time around is an underachievement and a failure.”
The feeling’s mutual too, with Allan Coleman also commenting; “It’s brilliant to retain Foz for the next two seasons, he’s without doubt one of the best 9’s outside Super League. He’s 100% behind the new vision of the club and wants to be part of it.”
“His quality and experience is going to be massive for us, and I want to get the best Matty Fozard Widnes have ever had – if we do it’ll be an exciting time for us all.”
As well as interviewing Foz about his contract extension for the next two seasons, we also spoke with Anne-Marie Hughes from Widnes Vikings Independent Player Support – VIPS for short.
Widnes VIPS is a supporter-led scheme which sees voluntary donations – as little as £5 per month – go directly back into the first-team squad, and as is the case with Matty Fozard, helps the club to bring in and retain key players for the upcoming Championship campaign!
Contributions are a minimum of £5 per month, and all supporters who choose to donate are entered into a prize draw to win awesome gifts, such as played-signed shirts, club hospitality packages, and a car service/MOT from player sponsors DMR Motors!
We really appreciate the support of every single Vikings fan, and if you want to donate or simply read more, click this link to go to the WidnesVIPS website!
With Foz on board in 2024 and 2025, we secure another key player in preparation for the new season. The Welsh international is hoping to produce big things next year, and everyone at the Vikings is along for the ride…
