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'He runs a million miles an hour and makes 20 million tackles'
Lions matchday skipper Stuart Hogg has saluted the man of the match performance by fellow Scot Hamish Watson in Saturday’s 56-14 win over the Sigma Lions, but the flanker himself turned down the invitation to say that his impressive effort was one in the eye for critics who said he was too small to be picked by Warren Gatland.
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Watson was the top tackler for the Lions in their first match on South African soil, putting in 16. He also made 24 metres from seven carries, made seven passes, beat three defenders and scored a seventh-minute try in an energetic 80-minute effort that was a continuation of the form that resulted in him being voted the 2021 Guinness Six Nations player of the championship.
“He will brilliant,” purred Hogg when asked at the post-game media briefing about the impact of Watson. “It’s like someone winds him up before the game and just lets him go. He goes out there and runs a million miles an hour and makes about 20 million tackles. Like the rest of the forward pack, that is what we want.
“We want these boys working really hard, showing what it means to wear that jersey and really putting their bodies on the line because that is all we can ask for. If you do your job to the best of your ability and the man next to him does the exact same, we give ourselves every opportunity of winning.”
Earlier, Watson opted not to have a pop at his critics during an interview with Sky Sports. “No, not really,” he said when quizzed if his man of the match display had proven a point to his doubters. “Everyone is entitled to an opinion so it is what it is I guess. I just really enjoyed tonight. It was great to play with players I have never players with before. I don’t think it is ever going to be perfect first game because there are loads of different combinations, but it was a good result overall.
Warren Gatland has been reflecting on the Lions' 56-14 win in Johannesburg #LionsRugbyhttps://t.co/MS1PmJtkam
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 3, 2021
“It’s a lot of boys’ first run out for the Lions and lots of boys playing with people they have never played with so it was never going to be perfect. It was tough at times, we got tested at times. It was at altitude, the lungs were going. My lungs were certainly going at bits in that game and I was glad to get a bit of a break. It puts a game in the legs as well and we have got four more warm-ups now until the Test matches.”
Normally a player who scores four tries walks away with the man of the match award, but Josh Adams was more than happy to see Watson rewarded. “To be fair to Hamish I thought he was outstanding. You could stand and applaud the tries but Hamish does all the unseen work that nobody would be able to stand and applaud. I thought his defence was outstanding so thoroughly deserved, but I am happy to get four of course.”
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PLAYER RATINGS: How we rated the Lions' performance after the side laid down a significant marker in Jo'burg #LionsRugby #LIOvBIL https://t.co/HwcSwVDIgY
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 3, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Pls get it into your thick arrogant heads that the final was played by two Southern Hemisphere teams. The best against the best and that Argentina was just unlucky otherwise non of the Northetn Hemisphere teams would have seen the light of day.
124 Go to commentsAs long as New Zealand youth are involved in sport they are passionate for, and are well supported, it’s all good. I love league as well as rugby. NRL clubs have long since scouted the First 15 competitions, the NH and Japan scout super rugby and NPC. It’s a miracle there’s any players left for the all blacks to pick from.
4 Go to commentsI'm a Bok fan, so I don't say this lightly, but he is one of my all time favourite players. I am really going to miss watching him play. Thanks for many great memories. You are a true legend of the game.
3 Go to commentsBest way to deal with all of this is to play another game.
124 Go to commentsIt’s 12-15 games Luke. Ringrose has barely played in 2024 and Henshaw and Keenan have also been out for spells in the same time period. There are always injuries and for younger players to play with the likes of Barrett will be great for them. It’s just looking for negatives where there are none.
5 Go to commentsAndy Goode pushing his own agenda with very dubious considerations on refereeing performances. Luke Pearce speaking a bit of French doesn’t make him a good and adequate referee for the Champions Cup final; his latest refereeing performance in particular was not so great.
4 Go to commentsJordie knows that he has to earn the right to put on the jersey, whatever that jersey might be.
5 Go to commentsThe best outside centre in the world at one point. He will be greatly missed.
3 Go to commentsYip his great for the big moments when needed as a safa really enjoy watching him
4 Go to commentsOne that will start to come up from now on is penalties for back pushes during kick chase scrambles. Very difficult to detect. In Croke Park if you replay the Hendy NH try, you will see Furbank push Porter in the back, who collides with Larmour knocking the ball across into Hendy’s path to dot down. A more significant example was in the RWC QTR final where Arendse pushes Fickou into two other French players for the ball to spill into Arendse’s path for him to gather and run in to score SAs first try. Not cheating if you are not caught and very difficult to spot but with kicking becoming so critical I feel its an area that will referreeed/TMO-ed more.
4 Go to commentsWhat a pathetic little twit Andy Goode is, as if we care what he thinks…..😂
124 Go to commentsFoxy has been a wonderful player for the Scarlets and Wales.
3 Go to commentsNika the Georgian is the best referee in the world at the moment. Luckily we will be spared the shite SH refs and Barnes will hopefully remain retired given how shite and embarrassing he was at the RWC.
4 Go to commentsThis is the most exciting game of the summer imo, as we really won’t know in advance how both teams are going to play. - Will Robertson just reproduce his Crusaders tactics from last year, or will there be a conscious effort to borrow from the Hurricanes and Blues, and from the aspects of the ABs world cup strategy that worked well? - England under Borthwick have put in some good performances playing attacking rugby, and some good performances playing kick-oriented defensive rugby. Will Borthwick try to merge them together into a single all-court game, or will he continue switching between different approaches depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition?
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
9 Go to commentsFinals are always tense affairs for the players so I do not expect this to be a spectacle of running rugby unfortunately.
4 Go to commentsBulls***': Ex-England international calls out Eben Etzebeth… Not to his face but from very far away… after he’d left. Checked to make sure he wasn’t in the building.
124 Go to commentsHopefully this will mean a new Auckland league team to support in the west. Big Warriors fan but it’s very, very stale on that front and I’d like the option of another team if it was to watch league again. League needs to step up BIG time if its to get anywhere, another AK team and something from the capitol or south is a must for the game.
4 Go to commentsGood, deep interview, nice job Frankie!
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