England can beat All Blacks, says confident Anthony Watson
Anthony Watson says he is convinced England can beat New Zealand on Saturday and end the All Blacks’ quest for a third successive World Cup triumph. The Bath wing was part of the British & Irish Lions squad which held New Zealand to a drawn series in 2017 and is adamant his country can also achieve something special in the semi-final this weekend.
Watson, who has been outstanding since regaining full fitness and reclaiming his place in England’s starting XV, rates the reigning world champions highly but says Eddie Jones’s squad do not feel inferior to their opponents.
“Even before the 2017 tour I had the mindset that they were beatable. I was never too fazed by the whole mystique of the All Blacks,” Watson said. “I respect the prolonged success they’ve had as a team, but the whole aura that surrounds them and the invincible stuff – I never bought into that. They are rugby players and we’re rugby players. We work very hard and they work very hard. They are definitely beatable. They’ll be 23 of them and 23 of us on Saturday and they’re human beings and rugby players, just like us.”
Watson has also made clear he bears no grudge towards the All Black centre Sonny Bill Williams who received a red card in the crucial second Lions Test in Wellington for a high challenge on him two years ago. Williams apologised at the time and the pair subsequently bonded when they bumped into each other on holiday in Fiji.
“It doesn’t bother me at all,” the 25-year-old wing said. “His height in the tackle was probably wrong but I wouldn’t expect him to go in any less than 100%. He was just doing what he thought was right at the time but he apologised the day after and I saw him in Fiji two or three weeks after the tour as well. He’s a very nice bloke, very down to earth and I don’t hold any type of grudge against him at all.”
Watson has already come up against the All Blacks’ exciting wing Sevu Reece, who was a member of the Provincial Barbarians side who faced the Lions in their opening fixture of the 2017 tour. “I remember thinking he was a class player. He had good feet and was very strong. He’s definitely a good player and it’s the same with George Bridge. You saw those tries he scored against Tonga. Give either of those two too much space and they can cause difficulties for you. We’ll have to be defensively aware of the threats they pose.”
The former All Blacks coach John Mitchell, meanwhile, believes England are more than capable of rattling New Zealand. Mitchell, who is now England’s defence coach, said: “It’s about getting our game going and putting more pressure on them. They love to be at the right end of the field. If you deny them that [field position] you have every opportunity of applying what we’re good at. I guess it is a case of who can sustain that pressure.
“We are going to have to go the distance because they will fight right to the end – that is their nature and we are well aware of that.
“Everyone labels them as a passing, attacking team but they’ll also come with physicality which is something we’re looking forward to. We love the physical nature of the game and we are looking forward to applying it at the weekend. To me it’s not so much pressure in the head as much as the amount of pressure you sustain in terms of how you play the game. We believe in what we do and we can’t wait to rip in.”
Mitchell, who still has family in New Zealand, also knows exactly how it feels to be involved in a World Cup team carrying the hopes of a nation.
In 2003 he was the All Blacks head coach when they were beaten in the semi-finals by an Eddie Jones-coached Australia. “There is more pressure on them because they are expected to win. I haven’t lived there for a long time but it is very much the case that New Zealanders expect the All Blacks to win. It is usually a trauma if they don’t.”