HAMISH Watson has already achieved the improbable by displacing John Hardie from the Scotland team. Now he has to try to do what many others have found impossible - blunt the menace of Australia’s twin opensides, David Pocock and Michael Hooper.
Hardie has been a favourite of national coach Vern Cotter’s since arriving from New Zealand midway through 2015, and understandably so, as his relentless performances, above all in defence, have made him one of the team’s most impressive performers. But Watson has deserved his chance today, not only because his Edinburgh team-mate has been below his best so far this season, but because his own displays have shown him to be a much-improved player from the one who made his debut in last year’s Six Nations defeat by Italy.
By the flanker’s own admission that was an inauspicious start to his international career. His second cap, in the World Cup warm-up match in Turin, was more encouraging, but anyone who has seen his performances in the PRO12 this season would acknowledge that his game has matured significantly since then.
“I feel a more rounded player,” Watson said. “When I got my first cap in the Six Nations I still had an awful lot to work on. I still do now, but back then I was a bit raw.
“I don't like to remember that one. It ended pretty badly - I picked up a yellow card at the end of the game, which wasn't great. It was massively disappointing for my first cap to lose like that, but then I got a second chance in Turin.”
In both of those games he came off the bench, so this represents a first start for the 25-year-old. He has wait to wait more than a year between that second cap and this first Autumn Test, missing out on last year’s Rugby World Cup and this year’s Six Nations Championship, but thanks to Scotland coach Vern Cotter he never felt neglected.
“Vern always pulled me aside and gave me a few things to work on,” he explained. “I then wasn’t selected for a few squads so you are consciously trying to work on the things you’ve been told to improve on.
“[Former Edinburgh coach] Alan Solomons kept selecting me, and it’s been the same under [acting Edinburgh coach] Duncan Hodge. I like the stuff in the loose, and the way Edinburgh try to play has helped me massively.”
With Hardie on the bench there is a fair chance that Watson will not play for the whole 80 minutes. But he does not see the presence of his rival as a threat, and explained that the two have worked together during the week. “Hards has been great. He wished me luck like everyone else.
“We get on really well and we've just been talking about the game, giving each other advice. He’s been really good about it.
“It's massive for me. I'm really delighted and I can’t wait to get involved. It's my first start, obviously, and it will be a great test for me against opposition like Australia.
“It's a different test, a different occasion. I think we’re going to have a record crowd, so it’s going to be a big, big day for me and I've just got to try not to get caught up in the occasion. I just want to try and play the game I’ve been playing for Edinburgh.”
It will indeed be a record crowd for the fixture, with Murrayfield close to its 67,144 capacity. Watson knows the national stadium well as an Edinburgh player, of course, but he also has fond memories of it as a fan - even if he cannot recall when he first watched Scotland play there.
“I can’t really. But I can remember waiting outside to get Dan Parks’ socks and Fordy’s [Ross Ford’s] socks. When you're a kid you get caught up in the whole occasion. The most exciting thing as a kid was meeting all the players afterwards. But I have some great memories.”
And, he admitted, he probably also has Parks’ socks. “I think I do somewhere. That probably sounds quite creepy, but I've played against him a few times now. You know how your mum keeps all your old kit - so I think they must be in a box somewhere.”
Watson’s task today, metaphorically speaking, will be to put Pocock and Hooper in a box and prevent them from roaming free. That is easier said than done, of course, but on his current form he will back himself to come close at least.
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