The 21-year-old is seen as one of the brightest prospects in Welsh rugby and will remain with the Swansea based region until at least the summer of 2020. The Bridgend born centre has already made 24 appearances for his home region scoring three tries and won his first senior Wales cap against Georgia last November.
“I’m happy to commit to the Ospreys, I’m enjoying playing here, enjoying my time with the boys, and I’m looking forward to the future and what we can achieve as a team,” said Watkin.
“I’m just looking to play for the region as much as I can for as long as I can. It was a great experience for me in the autumn with Wales but it’s important I bring that back to the Ospreys and use it to learn and continue developing.
“This is a great place for development, there are a lot of young players who have come through to play for the senior team, boys I played alongside at age-grade, and that shows the system here works. I’m really proud to be a part of it and really excited about the next couple of years.”
He made his senior Ospreys debut in September 2015, catching the eye in an 18-20 Liberty Stadium defeat to Munster, with his Champions Cup debut coming four months later away to Exeter Chiefs, as he totaled 13 appearances in his first season.
Having sat out the following campaign through injury Watkin has underlined his potential during this campaign, featuring regularly in midfield, including starts in all six of the region’s Champions Cup matches. His total of 13 defenders beaten in the Round 6 game against Clermont Auvergne equaled the all-time competition best.
“Owen is someone we identified very early on as having the potential to become an Osprey and he has already shown that he can thrive at this level,” said Ospreys Rugby General Manager Dan Griffiths.
“He’s already been able to gain considerable experience for someone so young but he’s not the kind of person to get ahead of himself, he knows that he has to continue working hard over the duration of this new contract to ensure he reaches his full potential. We are excited about seeing him continue to develop in an Ospreys shirt over the next two years and no doubt out supporters share that excitement.”
