I can’t wait to tackle Nadolo, says Watson

ANTHONY WATSON has little choice but to say he is relishing the prospect of going head-tohead with the biggest threequarter ever to play in a Rugby World Cup.

The Bath winger is expected to be named on England’s right wing to face Fiji on Friday following a stellar first year of international rugby which has seen the 21-year-old score five tries in 11 Tests, drawing comparisons with the legendary Jason Robinson in the process.

Weighing 14 stone 9lbs and standing 6ft 2in tall, Watson would himself once have been considered a giant in his position, but the advent of professionalism has seen players dramtically grow in size over the past two decades.

Next week Watson can expect to line up opposite Fiji’s hulking winger Nemani Nadolo, who at 20 stone and 6ft 5in is fully two stones heavier than Jonah Lomu in his pomp.

‘It is something I look forward to, that is part and parcel of why a lot of us play rugby — that physical confrontation,’ Watson said.

‘That is something I relish going into the game and I would like to impose different elements of my game against a player like that. There are going to be other wingers who are going to be big like Nadolo so it’s important for us to know that we can perform against players like him.

‘I have played against big boys in the past — the likes of George North — and it is a good opportunity if I get the chance to play against someone like that. It will be a massive challenge.’

Despite his enormous physical presence, Nadolo possesses deft footballing skills and is expected to be Fiji’s front-line goal-kicker at Twickenham on Friday.

‘You can see by the fact that he kicks goals for them that he has got skills across the board, so it is going to be important for me and all the other wingers to analyse him and all their back three,’ Watson added.

‘They have got game-breakers across the field so it is going to be massively important for us to make sure we do our homework on them and make sure that come Friday everyone is ready.’

Watson was just nine when Clive Woodward’s men won the 2003 World Cup and he can’t hide his delight at being compared to Robinson, England’s try-scorer in the final against Australia.

‘Of that team I would say Jonny Wilkinson and Robinson were the guys I really admired,’ he added.

‘Jonny Wilkinson because of his work ethic and the way he went about it and Jason Robinson because of his ability to change the game pretty rapidly and the way the crowd expected something to happen every time he got the ball.’