Watson’s set to give Mike shirt shrift
to my mind when someone mentions Twickenham,” he said.
“It is a big part of my homework to look back on previous games against them and I’ll do that this week.
“It’s just a reminder and a little confidence boost, isn’t it? It’s good to look back at when we were successful.”
The mental image of his late try from Lloyd Williams’ crosskick that enabled Wales to come from 10 points down to steal victory and help eliminate the hosts from their own tournament at the group stage has stayed with him. So too the sounds and sights of that night.
“The atmosphere was amazing,” he said. “A full house, 80,000 odd, with a lot of Welsh there. That helped us a lot towards the end.
“It was a bit daunting at times. Liam Williams goes off injured, Scott Williams goes off injured – at times I was thinking, ‘We could be struggling here’. But we all dug deep. I remember walking to a lineout round
It’s a little confidence lift to look back at famous wins
about the 60-minute mark and looking at the English forwards and thinking, ‘They seem to be struggling’. I remember telling our forwards, ‘If we go up a couple of gears here, we could really put some pressure on them’.
“That’s exactly what we did, and we came away with a very famous victory.”
Now, as then, the absence of Rhys Webb has propelled the 27-year-old scrum-half to centre stage. He has already made his mark on this championship with the interception try that set Wales on their way to an emphatic 34-7 victory in the curtain-raiser against Scotland last Saturday.
There is no Youngs to do battle with at Twickenham this time – injury has claimed him too – but Danny Care is a familiar foe.
“We all know he’s very sharp. He has scored some good tries and he often catches the defence sleeping. It’s going to be a big role for me to keep my forwards aware every time he is looking to do something sneaky,” said Davies.
Warren Gatland’s side will have plenty on their plate against England, but familiarity is on their side. Their backline is, save for Josh Adams, entirely made up of Scarlets. The cohesive flourish they bring to their regional rugby was there for all to see against Scotland, and if you felt at times you were watching the playbook of the Pro14 champions, you would be right.
“It was quite funny – we had a couple of Scarlets calls off the top of our heads at the weekend just by accident but we all reacted to them and got through it. We didn’t even flinch. We were on the same page and we just got on with it,” said Davies.
And so on to Twickenham to take on England in a tournament they have made their own over the past couple of seasons. What chance a repeat of that World Cup smash and grab?
“We’re expecting a totally different game. England are one of the form teams in the world,” he said. “I don’t think they have lost at Twickenham since the World Cup but we’re excited.”
England, who will include Richard Wigglesworth in their 23 in place of Youngs, have also retained Bath No8 Zach Mercer and Sale wing Denny Solomona – most likely as reserve cover. EDDIE JONES has few selection issues as he prepares to name his England team to face Wales today – but there is one recurring headache. The Mondeo or the Maserati at full-back?
Jones acknowledged last week the debate over whether to tear the No 15 jersey out of the grasp of the reliable but limited Mike Brown and hand it to Anthony Watson is a live one, but the answer thus far has always stayed the same. If Brown is fit, it belongs to the Harlequin whatever the potential benefits of expanding Watson’s sphere of influence from the right wing.
The Bath full-back has started 29 Tests but the only time at No15 was when Brown was injured against Australia last November.
“When I’m at my club I prefer to play full-back. I enjoy the freedom to be able to counter-attack,” said Watson.
“But the way England play, I’m more than happy to be on the wing. I can impact the game just as much from there. It doesn’t bother me. Plus, Mike doesn’t like it when I say I prefer full-back.”
An unprepossessing character, Watson is not programmed to demand control of the TV remote let alone Brown’s shirt, but it is a case of when, not if, he inherits it full time.
The 23-year-old has all the tools to do the job plus the X-factor that Brown, for all his yeoman values, will
EXCLUSIVE
never possess. Man of the match in Sunday’s seven-try win in Italy, Watson scorched the Stadio Olimpico turf in scoring twice.
“We’ve been working hard on speed. We always do,” he said. “I was on the end of some unbelievable work from George (Ford) and Owen (Farrell).”
At Pennyhill Park yesterday, the emphasis was on speed again as the backs worked out with weighted sleds and went through quickfire attack drills. While Jones then had them imagining they had Scott Williams trying to rip possession off them in a wrestling session, there was also work for the back three with RFU head of high performance Neil Craig, with his Aussie Rules background – doubling as an aerial skills coach.
“Having worked in AFL he’s got a good understanding of high balls and catching and kicking. He’s been a great asset,” said Watson. “There are opportunities to take it above your head but you have to make sure it’s right. There’s a bit of technique but a lot of it is mindset-based.”
A handy skill for a wing. Or a full-back. ●Mitsubishi Motors is proud to support England Rugby with its new grassroots initiative, Kit 4 Clubs. For more information visit mitsubishi-cars. co.uk/kit4clubs.