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Watson breaks silence on speculation linking him with French move
Scotland back row Hamish Watson has dismissed speculation linking him with a club move to France. The Edinburgh player had been rumoured to be on the move next summer, with Racing 92 among the clubs mentioned, but Watson has dismissed that suggestion.
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“One of the boys mentioned it earlier and that is the first I’ve heard of it,” he said. “I don’t think so.”
Watson spent his formative years in Leicester’s academy before moving to the Scottish capital where he has become a regular for club and country.
He is in the Scotland squad preparing to kick off their Autumn Nations Cup campaign against Italy in Florence on Saturday and looking to extend their winning run against the Azzuri to nine games.
“They are always really good at home and we will have to perform at our best if we want to beat them. They will probably be even better this weekend and they always have a good, tough game against us. We want to keep our winning streak going.”
This lid is going to catch the eye this weekend ???? https://t.co/DSmBiJvQpT
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 10, 2020
The 34-cap openside has established a formidable partnership for club and country with Jamie Ritchie and praised his Edinburgh colleague for his recent form. “I’m there with him at training every day and I see how hard he trains and how hard he works.
“It’s not hard for me to believe how well he’s doing. Full credit to him – he’s playing really well at the moment and I enjoy playing with him in the back row. It’s good for Scotland, good for the team,” continued Watson.
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The pair have been earmarked as potential British and Irish Lions picks, but Watson insists he is focusing on the immediate future. “A lot of people get spoken about for the Lions and get nowhere near it at all. I just have to keep performing for Scotland and when I go back to my club I’ll have to keep performing there as well.
“I imagine a lot will ride on what happens in the 2021 Six Nations. There is still a lot of rugby to be played and you can play yourself out of contention very quickly. All it takes is a few bad games, so let’s just see what happens.”
That will start on Saturday in Italy where Watson is likely to face Braam Steyn, Jake Polledri and Sebastien Negri. He knows all about their threats. “I play a lot of club stuff against those guys (Negri and Steyn).
“They are big guys, big ball carriers and you can see how well Polledri is playing at the moment. He has been doing that for years now, so we know how good the back row is. We know the back row battle is going to be key and we will be trying to keep those boys at bay as they are all top-quality players.”
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This will brighten up your Tuesday ? https://t.co/3O1ZhFXy7n
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 10, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
2 Go to commentswhat’s happening to Ian Peel?
1 Go to commentsAs a Crusaders fan , so disappointed , again.But I think Fergus Burke was all class for the Crusaders in his first game since October last year. Fletcher Newell , was so good at prop. Johnny McNicoll has been gold since returning from Wales. Noah Hotham brilliant , in a coming of age second season for the Crusaders.Jone Rova did really well at centre. The end of the game was tough.Sevu Reece , what a game/season in tough times.
1 Go to commentsFellas a balloon
3 Go to commentsBlues B team on display and made no race of it. By far the best team in SR with the Hurricanes barely getting past the winning post. Up the Blues 💙
6 Go to commentsWould be amazing to have Servette Genève reaching this level
3 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can't buy a win this season. Surely Penney's contract won't be renewed. There's still enough talent in the squad that they oughta be winning more.
1 Go to commentsABs captain for 23 seasons. Decent record. Surely nobody will surpass it. Legend. But alas a typo…
2 Go to commentsJust FYI Rugbypass, I for one am tired of your clickbait titles and thumbnails and will be clicking them no longer. Good day.
1 Go to commentsI think Farrell despite all of the stick he gets in the media is still one of if not the best fly half in the world. He is literally the full package. He can kick one of the best in the world, probably has the best defensive game of a fly half in the world and if he wants to he can run, take contact and find an offload to keep the pace of the attack. I dont know why he isnt spoken more about still being one of the best in the world with the likes of dupont. Farrell is the ultimate captain and team leader and is experienced- he has been in nearly any situation you can think of. I still believe due to these reasons that he is England’s best ever player and is still one of the best players in the world.
48 Go to commentsBlues are dominating up front and that’s been a long time coming. They have won the up front confrontation which is where canes, hilanders and act brumbies are also strong.
6 Go to commentsJust watched brumbies v safas game sadly not a show in he’ll thryr anywhere near quarters or semi contention. Admittedly some issues around new comers bot what stands out for me is coaching management, poor game planning and accuracy.
5 Go to commentsOne tough SOB!
16 Go to commentsI’ve put on 4/5 kilos since the beginning of the season too. Not good kilos. Bad kilos.
6 Go to commentsSurely there’s a ‘no knobheads’ policy ?
3 Go to commentsWallaroos have no chance of beating the Black Ferns unless Canada upsets them in Christchurch tomorrow but I doubt that as well!
1 Go to commentsWhat a joke. Could the victim do a course to reverse the long term CTE damage from the cheapshot?
2 Go to commentsTruely great player. In social media and opinion pieces he was held up and flogged for the results. People wanted someone to crucify, and he was the captain. He was still an immense presence respected by his peers. His battles with Siya Kolisi belong up with with Collins vs Burger in my opinion. Unlucky to be carded in the final, but I don’t agree that his red card was the defining moment. Not when you look at the dominant performances of the Springboks (PSDT in particular.) I think Cane should be remembered for the spirit and physicality that is special to test rugby.
16 Go to commentsSam was the man until he got injured .
16 Go to comments_Crusaders versus Leinster _at the moment might be a rout! But I would like to see the Blues play Toulouse, the Hurricanes front up against Stade Francais, and the Chiefs go against Toulon.
157 Go to comments