"Butch should start at 10 for Boks" says Watson

Here's a bit I did for SARugby.com - Butch James is backed to be Springboks' starting fly-half for the World Cup by club-mate Luke Watson

Should English clubs think twice before recruiting abroad?

On Thursday I broke a story about Springbok Francois Louw being lined up by Bath Rugby to replace the departing Luke Watson.
The story, it seems, is gaining traction in South Africa. As I write, it's the lead on www.sarugby.com.
But, as somebody points out in the comments section on that website, aren't we capable of producing loose forwards of sufficient quality in England?
Bath are not short of young, up-and-coming back-rowers, with home-grown starlets Guy Mercer and Josh Ovens leading the charge. I can't help feeling that the club's insistence on travelling around the southern hemisphere in search of an 'international-calibre' star to replace Watson is a kick in the teeth for these young guys, who have been knocking on the door for a good while now.
Moreover, an all-international back row can be a dangerous thing in World Cup year. Should Bath sign Louw and should Simon Taylor get a recall from Scotland - as his form merits - then Bath's entire first-choice back row of Moody, Taylor, Louw could be away at the start of the 2011-12 season.
Then the home-grown lads really will have to stand up and be counted.

Picture: Francois Louw, front, and Luke Watson during their days playing together for Western Province and The Stormers. Credit: Steve Haag, Back Page Sport SA

Gospel truth: Watson leaves Bath to pursue a goal broader than just rugby

Luke Watson told me that leaving Bath Rugby for a return to his native Eastern Province was the hardest decision he'd ever had to make. Here I give my take on the Bath skipper's impending departure.

On Sunday, the day before Luke Watson (pictured) announced he was to leave Bath Rugby and return to South Africa, he was on his knees.

"Making the biggest decisions in life requires a lot of prayer!" he said on his Twitter page before quoting Scripture, Luke's Gospel appropriately: "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed."

Luke Watson is a Christian first, a rugby player second (or possibly third, what with his expanding family). This I learnt almost exactly a year ago when I conducted my first interview with him following his arrival at The Rec from Western Province.
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"My faith is the foundation of my life," he told me back then, that fierce, uncompromising look in his eyes. "I put everything behind that.

"When I had the opportunity of Bath coming up I realised that this is where God wanted me to be, that there was more than just rugby here – that God wanted to do a massive thing not only within the club but within the city."

But the very thing that Watson believes brought him to Bath last November – his faith – has now guided him back to South Africa. His home town of Port Elizabeth, to be precise.

No doubt many secular Bath fans will find this hard to understand – and hard to stomach, too – but then the ex-Springbok has never been an easy player to understand. Never predictable, never boring, and always – you feel – just a few seconds away from making a decision that will wrong-foot a lot of people.

But the timing of the announcement is curious. Watson is not a man who does life in half measures, so why decide to leave Bath with a definite sense of 'mission unaccomplished'?

He only arrived at The Rec 13 months ago and was made captain in August. Surely he hasn't given himself enough time to accomplish the "massive" things he was so excited about this time last year. He's only played 29 games for Bath, and is leaving for a second-tier side.

Following the arrival of new owner Bruce Craig in April, Bath will have hoped that in Watson they'd found the right skipper to take them into their bold, cash-rich new era. The expectation will have been that Watson would provide a firm spine around which a new squad would develop.

That he has opted not to renew his contract will therefore have caused disappointment among the management, but – all things considered – I can't say I'm surprised Watson will be on his way in June.

I had heard in November that Eastern Province were interested in luring him back home on a better wedge than most people would expect from a second division side.

Then there's his South African wife to think of. She is due to give birth in early spring – a not insignificant variable in the Watsons' should-we- stay-or-should-we-go equation.

Life without a cause and a vision is, for Watson, a life not worth living. The vision he will take to Eastern Province is to build a fledgling club – of which his father, Cheeky, happens to be president – into a major power in the southern hemisphere game.

His faith is inextricably linked to a sense of social justice. Many of South Africa's black players have grown up in Eastern Province and Watson views a return to his home town as an opportunity to take the 'transformation' of a previously white-dominated game to a wider rugby audience.

But before all that, Watson has a tonne of work to do at Bath – 19 regular-season games, injury permitting.

And if he can bring to those games the kind of ebullience and leadership he showed against Leicester Tigers earlier this season at Welford Road, then that would be something every Bath Rugby fan could say 'Amen' to.

Come along to a Q&A with Luke Watson

I'll be appearing alongside Bath Rugby captain Luke Watson, England World Cup winner Ben Kay and ESPN commentator Nick Mullins on the panel at a fans' Q&A on Friday, November 26.
The event, which is being organised by broadcaster ESPN, takes place at The Curfew Inn in Cleveland Place West, Bath, from 8pm.
Come along, have a pint, say hello and hear what Luke's got to say - he's always worth hearing!

Should Moody be moved away from openside?

This was written before Luke Watson sadly picked up his injury against Quins yesterday - but I thought I'd still post it, as I believe the point still holds.

When you get praise from Leicester boss Richard Cockerill for your play in the forwards, you know you're doing something right.

Bath Rugby skipper Luke Watson was the recipient of such praise after Saturday's loss to the Tigers at Welford Road – and his eye-catching performance in the number seven shirt poses a conundrum for Bath head coach Steve Meehan.

When fit, England openside flanker Lewis Moody, pictured above, has been Meehan's choice at seven ever since he arrived at The Rec from Leicester over the summer.

But after Watson's performance at openside against Leicester, is it time to think the unthinkable – at least if you're an England fan – and consider playing Moody at blindside?
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Watson was heroic at the breakdown against the Tigers. The first turnover he won came in the tenth minute. Up until that point the match had been one-way traffic with Leicester already six points to the good.

But when Watson smashed into Geordan Murphy and forced the Leicester skipper to hold on to the ball, the immediate effect was to galvanise Bath.

It was Watson who punched the air and yelped with delight just as soon as referee Andrew Small blew up to signal the turnover but you can bet every member of the Bath side experienced a morale boost the moment the penalty was given.

It is upon such plays that games can turn. And, playing at seven, Watson seemed to be in his element. His marauding at the breakdown was superb. Certainly, he made a greater impact around the tackle area than Moody has managed in a Bath shirt so far this season.

Since he arrived at Bath last November, Watson has played the vast majority of his matches at number eight but openside is arguably his natural position. He played much of his rugby there in South Africa, with no less a coach than Nick Mallett describing Watson as the best openside in the country during his spell as Western Province director of rugby.

And Watson himself made no secret of how much he had enjoyed playing at seven when I spoke to him after Saturday's game.

"I enjoyed getting over the ball," he said. "I was pretty successful today and got three or four turnovers and put them under pressure.

"When Moodos comes back it'll be great to have him but I enjoyed getting over the ball and causing a bit of havoc."

So, what should happen selection-wise when Moody next plays for Bath?

With Simon Taylor slipping into the rhythm of things at Bath and putting in fierce performances at number eight, I would be reluctant to move him. Nor would I want to shift Watson from seven following his performance against Leicester.

I'd therefore bring Moody in at blindside in place of Andy Beattie. It would be a rapid back-row – surely one of the fastest in the Premiership – and one difficult to contain at the breakdown.

It's a bit of brain-twister for Meehan but it's not a bad position to be in.

Personalities and prima donnas - the art of leadership

What kind of personality makes for a good leader on the professional rugby field?

There are no fixed rules but a painfully introverted navel-gazer is unlikely to spark the kind of fire that's needed for a team to set the league alight.

In most cases, what's needed is a vocal extrovert but that can be a tricky issue for a head coach, because vocal, extroverted sportsmen can become vocal, extroverted prima donnas – as Bath Rugby have discovered down the years.

When I interviewed Bob Calleja last week, the departing Bath Rugby stalwart made it clear he'd had to put up with a few egos in the changing room during his decade or so at the club.

Calleja was too diplomatic to say who the prima donnas were, of course, but I'm sure you can think of a couple.

The personality of the skipper is of the utmost importance because it can trickle down to the rest of the squad.

The virtues that a captain needs are varied. He needs to command respect without being intimidating, he needs to encourage while being tough on mistakes and he needs to lead while ensuring others don't become reliant on that leadership.

It has been a stated objective of Bath Rugby over the past half-year or so to cultivate leaders all over the park. That philosophy was encapsulated by skipper Luke Watson's remark after the win in Belfast on Friday night.

"There are so many leaders I can't say I have the leadership role," said the South African, pictured.

And that's not a glib statement. Look through the Bath squad – and the pack in particular – and you'll see there are ex-captains and experienced internationals all over the parish.

These are men whose impact will not be restricted to matchday, either. Their influence will be felt in training, in video analysis and even during 'down time'.

Lewis Moody is a case in point. Of course, there are his skills as a player, but his influence at Bath will stretch much further than what he does at flanker. He is also a motivator, a winner and a colossus in training.

This week his England team-mate Mark Cueto handed Moody a compliment that made me smile, describing him as "far more intelligent on a rugby field then he looks".

It is Moody's fusion of rugby nous and bloody-mindedness that should inject a firm spine into Bath. And judging by the number of players that Bath released over the summer to sign Moody, that kind of spine has cost them a fair amount of wedge.

Now back to Watson. When Bath were going through the dark days of last autumn – when a win was harder to come by than a magnanimous Gloucester fan – head coach Steve Meehan cautioned against fans regarding Watson as the club's 'messiah'.

The South African had yet to arrive but expectations were high given the performances he had been putting in for Western Province while captain.

Deification of Watson to the pantheon of Bath greats may be premature but his impact was immediate. His elevation to the captaincy was, as far as I was concerned, a no-brainer within weeks of his arrival.

And while he is certainly extroverted, there is a selflessness that stems from his Christian faith.

How he performs at The Rec on Saturday in his first home match as Bath skipper will be intriguing – but expect an almighty roar of approval when his name is read out before kick-off.

Luke Watson and how he got the Bath captaincy

Read Luke Watson's first interview as Bath Rugby captain, which he gave to me just before the club flew out for their pre-season camp in Provence.