Leicester boss Geoff Parling makes interesting Hamish Watson revelation

Even before Tommy Reffell suffered a throat injury in the PREM Rugby Cup final, bringing Hamish Watson in on a two-month deal looked another extremely smart bit of recruitment by Leicester boss Geoff Parling.

It is only five years since Watson was honoured as the Six Nations Player of the Championship and then went on tour with the Lions, but, for whatever reason, he is out of favour at Edinburgh.

Parling would have loved to have brought in the industrious flanker sooner, but is glad to have finally got his man.

“I actually spoke to him earlier in the season, it would have been around November time. I remember we had eight back-five forwards injured at the time, so I spoke to him about coming in then. That was when I opened the conversations but then Edinburgh used him in one of the games off the bench, so the timing just didn’t quite work,” Parling revealed to RugbyPass.

Watson, 34, who won the last of his 59 Scotland caps at the 2023 World Cup, has made 180 appearances for Edinburgh but only two this season.

Player Tackles Won

1

Hamish Watson

17

2

Orlando Bailey

14

3

Joe Heyes

14

Given permission to go on loan to Leicester, Watson’s original club as an academy player, the openside threw himself into the Tigers 33-19 win over Bristol last Sunday.

The 2021 Lions tourist made the most tackles in the match (17) and carried with purpose in his 80 minutes on the field.

“It is only five years since he was a British Lion. We are really pleased to have him, not just for what he does on the pitch but he’s fitted in culturally as well. He is the type of person I want here.

“I thought he was excellent at the weekend. Some of his clearing work, and the stuff he did around the breakdown, was outstanding. He was physical in the carry and he was obviously the top tackler as well, so I was really pleased.

“He was in our academy, I think it is 16 years since he left, so to then make his debut for us is quite a nice story.”