WATSON HAILS TEAM EFFORT

FOR an ambitious player, turning in a man-of-the-match performance four days before your country’s Test squad is announced is never going to be a bad thing.

Fresh from helping Edinburgh upset the odds by winning at Harlequins, however, Hamish Watson was determined to share the credit with his team-mates.

‘There were loads of good performances out there,’ he insisted. ‘It is not so much about the man-of-the-match award — it is great to get it but it is more about the team.

‘It was a great result, awesome. They have a pretty good home record. I don’t think they have lost at home in the last ten games, so to come here and get a result is a big upset.

‘I don’t think many people would have been expecting it, apart from the boys at Edinburgh. It puts us in good stead to top the pool now.’

Since the final game in the European Challenge Cup comes when they christen their new home at Myreside against pool minnows Timisoara Saracens — a match they only have to win to come top — they can be pretty confident of first place in the pool. However seedings in the quarter-finals are still at stake, making a scoring bonus point a requirement.

For Watson, it was a performance that must have cemented his place as the go-to openside flanker when the squad is announced and he is confident a few of his teammates made a case to join him.

‘We were on top from the word go,’ he said. ‘We stuck to our game plan, to win the territory battle, and then we attacked well when we were in their half. The forwards did great in the set-piece.

‘It was a little bit of a shame about the last five minutes, when we switched off a little bit.

‘The front five all did really well in the ball and Allan Dell took his try well. He is one of the quickest through the gates, even though he is a prop-forward. He is having a really good season.’