Rugby World Cup 2019 – Anthony Watson: ‘I don’t hold any type of grudge against Sonny Bill Williams’

All Blacks’ Sonny Bill Williams smashed England wing Anthony Watson in the face with his shoulder during the 2017 Lions series in New Zealand, but the infamous incident is water under the bridge

Anthony Watson holds no grudges at all towards New Zealand centre Sonny Bill Williams for smashing him in the face with his shoulder two years ago, after the Kiwi cleared the air in a fluke encounter in Fiji.

Williams’ red card changed the course of the British and Irish Lions’ tour of New Zealand in 2017 as the 14-man All Blacks went on to lose the second Test and – without the centre available – drew the third decisive Test to split the series.

With England’s Watson set to face New Zealand this Saturday – in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals – for the first time since the Lions series, memories of that incident could easily come flooding back for the wing, even if Williams is not selected – with Steve Hansen preferring Ryan Crotty and Jack Goodhue as his first-choice centre pairing.

But Watson bares no scars from the hit, physically or mentally, and puts that down to a surprise meeting in the Pacific Islands three weeks after it happened.

“It doesn’t bother me at all,” said Watson. “His height in the tackle was probably wrong, but I wouldn’t expect him to go in any less than 100 per cent.

“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. It’s rugby at the end of the day.

“It was completely random. Everyone was cracking up in the hotel, but we were just sat there as if nothing had happened, to be fair. I know it was a massive swing of momentum in terms of the Test and the impact it had, but I didn’t see it as the big deal that was made out – that there was a massive drama and we were going to hate each other for the rest of our lives, or anything like that.

“We just talked about all kinds of stuff; about rugby and about his family and stuff like that. It was just a general conversation, we didn’t talk about the tackle!”

The victory in the second Test in Wellington not only kept the series alive for the Lions, but it proved to every man on the field that the All Blacks could be beaten.

Sonny Bill Williams was sent off for this tackle on Anthony Watson (Getty)

But in Watson’s head, the much-discussed aura that surrounds the All Blacks never really applied.

“I was never too fazed by the whole mystique of the All Blacks. 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.

Even before that tour I respected how successful the All Blacks had been for a long time, but they’re humans at the end of the day. There will be 23 of them and 23 of us on Saturday and they’re human beings and rugby players just like us. We’ve just got to do what we do.”

Watson was perhaps at the peak of his form going into the Lions tour, which resulted in Warren Gatland handing him a starting jersey for all three Tests against the All Blacks. His only try of the tour would come in the very first match, against the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians, in what should have been a walkover victory for the Lions against their weakest opposition of the lot.

But coming just a few days after their arrival, the Lions were nearly caught cold and it took Watson’s try to bail them out with a 13-7 win against a side that contained a few hidden gems. One of those talented young players was Sevu Reece, the wing who now finds himself a key part of the All Blacks team, and Watson remembers seeing his raw talent immediately.

“Sevu Reece was the first person I played against on that New Zealand tour,” recalled Watson. “He played for the Provincial Barbarians and 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.”