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Bath - Controversial Springbok loose forward Luke Watson has fired a few pot shots at the South African establishment from his new English club, Bath, including slamming record-breaking Bok captain John Smit.
According to a report on the rugby365 website, Watson, in a series of interviews in the English media, took exception with what he felt was a campaign waged against him in the media and also accused Smit of a 'cop-out' for labelling Watson as the 'cancer' in the team during last year's Tri-Nations.
John Smit, in his recently published autobiography, Captain In The Cauldron, wrote that Watson was the "principle reason" why the Boks were off colour in the 2008 Tri-Nations campaign in which they lost four of their six matches. In 2009, when Watson was not present, the Boks went on to beat the British & Irish Lions and win the Tri-Nations convincingly.
Smit said that Watson "didn't participate in team meetings, and he basically did his own thing" in 2008.
Smit, in a chapter titled 'Killing the cancer', revealed how Watson continued to send SMSs on his cellphone during a team meeting when the most capped Bok of all time Percy Montgomery announced his retirement from Test rugby.
The Bok captain said Watson was "showing complete disrespect to a Springbok legend".
Smit also tells of his speech to the Bok team last year before the home Tri-Nations match against Australia, during which the captain accused Watson of destroying morale within the squad.
"I didn't single Luke out in my talk, but I said to the match 22: 'There are 21 guys here who will bleed for each other, and you have to understand that you can't let one guy disrupt everything we have worked for as a team. We are bigger than this one guy, and he shouldn't be allowed to affect how we feel about each other.'" Smit said in his book.
He added that "the team" blamed the bad environment on Watson, not on the new coach, Peter de Villiers.
"How can you function as a family when one guy doesn't give a rat's arse? He was polluting the environment," Smit added.
However, Watson, in an interview with London's Sunday Times, hit back at Smit.
"I do find it peculiar that everybody is now having a go at me when people didn't have the guts to address the situation with me at the time," he said.
"I was blamed for bringing down an entire Tri-Nations campaign. Now, come on, one player in a 40-man squad bringing down an entire team? I don't buy that. And if you're an experienced captain and you've got senior players around you, you speak to the guy."
"John has done incredibly well with South Africa, he is the most capped captain of all time. Fantastic, but to blame me for the team coming apart at that time was a cop-out."
Watson, in an interview with the Daily Mail, said he does not know if he would play for the South African Test side again if a call should ever come.
He's not holding his breath, especially given the publicity that has seen him heavily criticised for a speech he made at the University of Cape Town.
Full transcript of Luke Watson's UCT speech
In the speech he was critical of South Africa's rugby establishment and including a comment that the Springbok shirt made him want to vomit.
Watson denied that his move to Bath in England was a response to the treatment he received at home.
"By that time I was very popular in Cape Town and I was voted player of the year there. Western Province desperately wanted to keep me and came back with a nice counter offer, but I told them it wasn't a money decision," he told the Mail.
WP honour Watson
At no stage, he said, did he feel sorry for himself that the comments he made in his speech were made public, despite the reaction of some to his comments.
"I made a decision to stand up against something that I considered to be an injustice. I realised that there would be a lot of resistance, and it came. But it was difficult for my family," he said.
Despite that he said he still received a lot of support from the population in general.
"A majority of people in the country, the black South Africans, play soccer, they don't watch rugby because of certain perceptions that come with the sport in South Africa. So there was a large majority of people out there who really supported me," he said.
Watson acknowledged that he had been a political pawn since the age of eight because of the stance his father, Cheeky Watson, took in playing his rugby outside the white regime.
However, the politicians who thrust him into the Springbok side had done him no favours.
"It was very difficult. As a player you are thinking, 'I don't want to be here. I shouldn't be here because I wasn't selected'. Having said that, the year before I was Super 14 player of the year so I probably should have been there, but the coaches didn't want me, so now I was being put there by other people. I didn't know what to do," he said.
According to a report on the rugby365 website, Watson, in a series of interviews in the English media, took exception with what he felt was a campaign waged against him in the media and also accused Smit of a 'cop-out' for labelling Watson as the 'cancer' in the team during last year's Tri-Nations.
John Smit, in his recently published autobiography, Captain In The Cauldron, wrote that Watson was the "principle reason" why the Boks were off colour in the 2008 Tri-Nations campaign in which they lost four of their six matches. In 2009, when Watson was not present, the Boks went on to beat the British & Irish Lions and win the Tri-Nations convincingly.
Smit said that Watson "didn't participate in team meetings, and he basically did his own thing" in 2008.
Smit, in a chapter titled 'Killing the cancer', revealed how Watson continued to send SMSs on his cellphone during a team meeting when the most capped Bok of all time Percy Montgomery announced his retirement from Test rugby.
The Bok captain said Watson was "showing complete disrespect to a Springbok legend".
Smit also tells of his speech to the Bok team last year before the home Tri-Nations match against Australia, during which the captain accused Watson of destroying morale within the squad.
"I didn't single Luke out in my talk, but I said to the match 22: 'There are 21 guys here who will bleed for each other, and you have to understand that you can't let one guy disrupt everything we have worked for as a team. We are bigger than this one guy, and he shouldn't be allowed to affect how we feel about each other.'" Smit said in his book.
He added that "the team" blamed the bad environment on Watson, not on the new coach, Peter de Villiers.
"How can you function as a family when one guy doesn't give a rat's arse? He was polluting the environment," Smit added.
However, Watson, in an interview with London's Sunday Times, hit back at Smit.
"I do find it peculiar that everybody is now having a go at me when people didn't have the guts to address the situation with me at the time," he said.
"I was blamed for bringing down an entire Tri-Nations campaign. Now, come on, one player in a 40-man squad bringing down an entire team? I don't buy that. And if you're an experienced captain and you've got senior players around you, you speak to the guy."
"John has done incredibly well with South Africa, he is the most capped captain of all time. Fantastic, but to blame me for the team coming apart at that time was a cop-out."
Watson, in an interview with the Daily Mail, said he does not know if he would play for the South African Test side again if a call should ever come.
He's not holding his breath, especially given the publicity that has seen him heavily criticised for a speech he made at the University of Cape Town.
Full transcript of Luke Watson's UCT speech
In the speech he was critical of South Africa's rugby establishment and including a comment that the Springbok shirt made him want to vomit.
Watson denied that his move to Bath in England was a response to the treatment he received at home.
"By that time I was very popular in Cape Town and I was voted player of the year there. Western Province desperately wanted to keep me and came back with a nice counter offer, but I told them it wasn't a money decision," he told the Mail.
WP honour Watson
At no stage, he said, did he feel sorry for himself that the comments he made in his speech were made public, despite the reaction of some to his comments.
"I made a decision to stand up against something that I considered to be an injustice. I realised that there would be a lot of resistance, and it came. But it was difficult for my family," he said.
Despite that he said he still received a lot of support from the population in general.
"A majority of people in the country, the black South Africans, play soccer, they don't watch rugby because of certain perceptions that come with the sport in South Africa. So there was a large majority of people out there who really supported me," he said.
Watson acknowledged that he had been a political pawn since the age of eight because of the stance his father, Cheeky Watson, took in playing his rugby outside the white regime.
However, the politicians who thrust him into the Springbok side had done him no favours.
"It was very difficult. As a player you are thinking, 'I don't want to be here. I shouldn't be here because I wasn't selected'. Having said that, the year before I was Super 14 player of the year so I probably should have been there, but the coaches didn't want me, so now I was being put there by other people. I didn't know what to do," he said.
