Rugby World Cup: Scotland's Hamish Watson tries to make up for lost time

Hamish Watson was among the tryscorers in Scotland's huge win over Romania in Lille.

The Scotland flanker has had to be patient at this year’s tournament in France but he got his chance against Romania in Lille on Saturday and seized it. Watson was one of the standout performers on a night when the gulf between the teams was uncomfortably wide. He got the ball rolling, scoring the first try in Scotland’s 84-0 win and giving Gregor Townsend something to think about when he sits down with his coaching team to ponder selection for this weekend’s decisive Pool B game against Ireland in Paris.

It was against the same opponents in 2019 that Watson’s first World Cup came to a premature end. The Edinburgh back-rower was carried off just before half-time in what was Scotland’s opening match of the tournament in Japan. The injury was serious enough to rule him out of the remainder of the campaign. Watson came back stronger. He was voted player of the championship for the 2021 Six Nations and won selection for the Lions’ tour of South Africa later that year. But injuries last season combined with the rise of Rory Darge have meant Watson can no longer be considered a first pick for Scotland and it was Darge who started in the first two matches of this World Cup, against South Africa and Tonga.

Watson, who had not played since the warm-up win over France at Murrayfield on August 5, was at his dynamic best against Romania, particularly in the opening exchanges. “It was great to be back out there in a Scotland jersey,” he said. “It seems like it’s been forever since my last game. I’ve had to wait eight weeks I think. Every time I wear that jersey it’s a really proud day for me and my family.

“It was a good result for us. It’s not always easy when you make a lot of changes to the team, but the boys who came in did well. It puts us in a good position for next week. I managed to get myself into some good carrying slots early in the game. It was important just to try and get my hands on the ball early in the game. The first 15 minutes were pretty tough actually, pretty tiring trying to break Romania down. But I was pleased to make a few decent carries and show what I can do.

“It’s nice to actually play a full part in a game and come off unscathed compared to what happened four years ago. I think I only lasted 30 minutes or so, which was obviously really tough. It’s been a different role for me in the past few weeks, helping the boys prepare for games. I’m obviously not really used to that and it has been tough, but yeah, it was great to get out there and put on a performance against Romania.”

It was Watson’s 59th cap and he would dearly love to win his 60th at the Stade de France on Saturday night, but competition for back-row places is fierce in this Scotland squad. Jamie Ritchie, Darge and Jack Dempsey formed the starting trio against South Africa and Tonga, the versatile Matt Fagerson came off the bench in the first two games and then started the Romania match alongside Watson and Luke Crosbie. Ritchie suffered a concussion against Tonga but the Scotland coaching team are confident he will be fit to lead the team out against Ireland. For Watson, it’s a case of waiting to see if he’s done enough. “I feel like I’ve at least put myself forward into the conversation about selection,” he said. “We’ll see what the coaches do. It’s obviously a massive game for us.”

Scotland have not beaten Ireland since the 2017 Six Nations and have lost eight in a row against them since. The win of six years ago came in Vern Cotter’s last campaign in charge and, of the current squad, Watson, Finn Russell, Zander Fagerson, Richie Gray, Huw Jones and Ali Price all played in the 27-22 victory at Murrayfield. Scotland’s inability to beat them since Townsend succeeded Cotter has coincided with Ireland’s rise. Andy Farrell’s side have topped the world rankings for the past 14 months and went into the tournament as Six Nations grand slam champions. Their win over South Africa in Paris eight days ago has put them in the box seat to qualify from Pool B as group winners but Scotland can eliminate them if they defeat them this weekend and deny them a bonus point, or beat them with a bonus point and restrict Ireland to one.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve beaten Ireland. I think 2017 was the last time. Not many boys in this squad would have been around back then. I guess I’m probably one of the few. Credit to them, they’re a good team and really tough to beat,” said Watson. “We’re playing them when they’re at their best as well. They’ve won 16 games in a row or whatever it is and they obviously looked great against South Africa. But that’s probably the way we prefer it as underdogs, being written off, and needing to win by eight points or whatever. It’ll be a really good week leading into a massive game for the whole country.”

Watson senses a different vibe in the squad compared to the 2019 World Cup when things unravelled for Scotland during the heavy opening defeat by Ireland. Although they came back to beat Samoa and Russia, they lost the final group game to the hosts to exit at the group stage for only the second time. The odds are on Scotland following a similar path out of the tournament this year but Watson is hopeful the cohesiveness in the group can help them pull off an upset.

“There’s a lot of continuity and momentum at the moment,” he said. “We’ve been building really well. It definitely feels different compared to four years ago. I think the squad as a whole is a lot tighter and in a lot better place than four years ago. I know we say we’re a close-knit group quite a lot, but it is true. Everyone who gets selected doesn’t take it lightly. It feels like we’ve got some good momentum leading into what’s going to be a massive game for us against the best team in the world.”