Watts made his first class debut in 2008 for Wellington-based side Boland Cavaliers, coming on as a replacement in their first match in the 2008 Vodacom Cup against the Falcons.
[6] He scored further tries against the Blue Bulls,[7] the Golden Lions[8] and the Free State Cheetahs[9] to help the Cavaliers finish seventh (and second-last) on the log.
[19] Over the course of the season, he helped them to further victories against the Blue Bulls,[20] the return match against the Leopards[21] and the Golden Lions[22] as the Pumas finished seventh in the competition.
[30] The Boland Cavaliers won nine of their ten matches during the regular season – the only defeat being a 17–23 loss to the Eastern Province Kings[31] – to finish top of the log and secure a home semi-final against the Griffons.
[38] He was named on the bench for their first match of the season against the Sharks, but was an unused replacement in their 22–29 defeat,[39] before dropping out of their matchday squads altogether, with Johan Goosen, Burton Francis and Riaan Smit ahead of him in the pecking order.
[47] Watts was the undisputed first choice fly-half for the Free State Cheetahs in the 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division, starting all eleven of their matches during the competition.
The Free State Cheetahs finished the season in third spot on the log to qualify for the semi-finals, but lost at that stage of the competition against eventual champions the Sharks, going down 22–33 in a match in Durban.
[48] Watts moved up the pecking order for the 2014 Super Rugby season, being named the regular replacement for first-choice fly-half Johan Goosen.
In total, he contributed 49 points – the second-highest by a Cheetahs player behind Goosen – which also included his first Super Rugby try in a match against the Reds in a 33–43 defeat in Brisbane.
[53] However, he made just two appearances in the 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division – against the Pumas in Nelspruit[54] and Griquas in Bloemfontein[55] – before suffering a knee injury which ruled him out of the remainder of the campaign and the entire 2015 Super Rugby season.
[56] Upon returning to fitness, he was loaned to the Griffons and he made one appearance for the Welkom-based side, scoring 12 points consisting of a try, two conversions and a penalty in a 25–21 victory over the SWD Eagles in the 2015 Currie Cup qualification competition.
[57] In June 2015, he was released from his contract with the Free State Cheetahs to join the Port Elizabeth-based Eastern Province Kings prior to the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division,[58] signing a deal until October 2017.