If Scotland’s Hamish Watson looks like he plays with a point to prove it is because he has been doing so since the age of eight. While his name would have you think otherwise, Watson’s accent sounds more Macclesfield than Musselburgh, even if he always knew where his allegiances lay.
The back-rower went as far as to hang a saltire on his bedroom wall to prove it: “That’s actually a true story. It was more weird for me because I had to prove to everyone, with an English accent, that I was so Scottish,” he says. “Maybe I did it to prove that to everyone. But I didn’t wear a kilt to school, I wore school uniform. That would have been frowned upon.”
Watson, who qualifies for Scotland through his Glaswegian grandparents, is not big for an openside flanker but his performances in this Six Nations undoubtedly have been. Stuart Hogg commands the attention but Watson is the connoisseur’s choice for player of the tournament so far.
His small, stocky frame means he is a limpet at the breakdown and Watson made 19 tackles in the opening day win over Ireland, in the 49 minutes he was on the field. That would have been especially satisfying after he was accused by CJ Stander of Ireland, when playing for Edinburgh against Munster in September, of not being interested in tackling. “Yeah, I did hear that,” says Watson pointedly, of Stander’s remarks.
Similarly, his turnovers against France prevented a colossal pack from steamrollering Scotland, who at 16-16, were in the hunt for a first win in Paris since 1999 until the final 10 minutes.
“You come up against different obstacles when you’re a tiny bit smaller,” he says. “But you’ve just got to work on other things when you are my size. It works for you on occasions as well, you’ve got a low centre of gravity for carrying which can be hard to stop. It would be nice being 6ft 10in but you’ve just got to work with what you’ve got.”
To understand why Watson was dropped from the starting XV against Wales then, you must first appreciate Vern Cotter’s relationship with Scotland’s other openside, John Hardie. That is not to accuse Cotter of favouritism and the New Zealander is open about why he prefers Hardie when fit. Again however, Watson made his point when Hardie went off injured against Wales.
“When you start the first two, then come off the bench, you try to prove you should be starting,” says Watson. “I think every player who is on the bench tries to do that – everyone wants to be starting so I just try to come on and make a difference. It’s really positive for me, it’s quite exciting for me at the moment. ‘Hards’ had a great World Cup and has just been a bit unlucky with injuries at the moment but I’m just trying to take my opportunity.
“Vern gave me my debut cap and I didn’t play for a while after that. It’s hard to take for any player, but any player will have had one or two setbacks in their career. Vern was very upfront with me, very honest with me and gave me a few things that he wasn’t happy with in my game. I think I’ve got better at those things and I’m getting picked.”
The debut Watson refers to was an inauspicious way to begin an international career. It was February 2015 and after coming off the bench on 50 minutes he was sent to the sin-bin for the final few as Italy completed only their second ever away victory in the Six Nations. His first Scotland start did not come until the autumn of 2016.
“It was really tough to take. I have really mixed emotions of that day,” says Watson. “I loved it – you never forget the day of your first cap. It was a proud moment for me and my family but at the same time you’ve just been yellow carded and lost to Italy at home for the first time in a while. It was pretty gutting.”
Saturday will mark a first trip to Twickenham for Watson, a Leicester academy graduate who grew up near Macclesfield before attending Oakham school, which lists Lewis Moody, Tom Croft and Alex Goode among its alumni. A reunion with Richard Cockerill at Edinburgh next season offers Watson another opportunity to prove a point then, but before that, what personal significance does playing against England hold?
“I’ve just got to take it as any old match. I’ve never been to watch a game at Twickenham or anything. It’s not: ‘Oh God, I want to get them’, it’s exactly the same sort of game for me,” he says. “I’ve supported Scotland pretty much all my life, since I was eight years old. It’s any other game for me, a big game but it’s big just because we haven’t beaten them in ages, not because I lived in England when I was younger.”
