‘I was a political pawn’
26 Oct 2010
In an exclusive interview with SA Rugby magazine, Luke Watson talks to GAVIN RICH about the mistakes he’s made, his controversial Springbok call up, and the move to Bath that has reinvigorated his career.
Luke Watson has unfinished business. He wants to wipe the slate clean after his controversial time in South African rugby by returning after his stint in England and making a positive contribution to the game in his homeland.
The cynical may raise their eyebrows and shake their heads dismissively at those words. The Bath captain would probably anticipate it. He knows he made enemies before he left for the new chapter in his career, and he understands it. Without wanting to make apologies for what went before, he now understands why many people back home don’t like him. If he had his time again, he would do things differently.
The former Western Province and Sharks player has never been afraid to say it how he sees it. There are many issues he has spoken out on in the past that he still feels deeply for. But after almost a year away from the role he was cast into almost from birth as the son of political activist Cheeky Watson, he now sees things differently. He is honest in his appraisal of where some things went wrong.
The relaxed openness and sincerity with which he spoke over the phone from his base in Bath was certainly a far cry from the fidgety, edgy exterior Watson presented to the media in 2007 when he was selected as unwanted player No 46 in Jake White’s national squad and again when selected in less controversial circumstances in 2008.
Back then Watson put across the message that he wanted to talk even less than he wanted to be there. In face-to-face interviews, he tended to stare into the middle distance, as if there was something else on his mind, with his words spat out in a fast, nervous manner. Unless you were part of his inner circle, it wasn’t easy to warm to him.
To be fair, it may not only be the thousands of kilometres that now separate Watson from his past that has ignited change in the 26-year-old. Even in 2009, when he was playing his last Currie Cup season for Western Province, Watson started coming across as a changed person.
At the time, Cape Town rugby scribes attributed it to the realisation that his duties as Province captain demanded that he be more personable. But Watson reckons his last months at Newlands coincided with the arrival of a newfound maturity.
He got married, he started to look at life in a new way, and the move to England was an expression of his desire to experience something that would force him to embrace a broader view on the world and life than was being afforded by the deeply principled political roots of his upbringing.
‘Being a newlywed was part of the reason for the move to Bath. I don’t mean this in a negative sense, but I wanted to get away from family and friends, and it was something my wife and I decided between us,’ says Watson. ‘It wasn’t a case of me wanting to run away. I have never been one to shy away from problems and I’m not afraid of conflict. I have lived with adversity all my life, and if anything, the perception that I might be running away was something that made me reluctant to leave South Africa.’
Watson hasn’t regretted the move. When he arrived in England it was the first time he was accepted and embraced for who he was and not on the basis that he was Cheeky Watson’s son. It was an interesting experience.
‘It was really weird. It was the first time I’d arrived somewhere without feeling I had to have my guard up and needed to defend myself. I was brought up in an extremely hostile environment. As a kid you view everything you are told as the gospel truth. I used to get bullied when I first started school and I never understood why. It built up a defence mechanism in me.
‘Given the environment I was confronted with, I became defensive. I had the feeling people were against me. I was sometimes right about that, and I was sometimes wrong about it.
‘When I arrived at Bath there was none of that. It confused me at first. I was so used to having to battle with people, to defend myself, and suddenly I didn’t have to do that. But it was a refreshing change, and it has shown me a lot and allowed me to grow. There are no excuses for me at Bath, I have been accepted for who I am and my past hasn’t been an issue at all.’
Being in a more receptive environment than he was in back home has allowed Watson time to reflect.
‘I’ve changed a lot as an individual since I’ve been here. Being away from South Africa has given me a chance to breathe, a chance to see things from an outside perspective,’ says Watson. ‘It has given me a chance to take a good hard look at myself and what has gone before, to distinguish between what is true and what is not true, what is hype and what is propaganda.
‘The feelings that have driven the way I’ve acted have been feelings I had from a young age. I grew up in an environment that was very different to that experienced by other white kids of my age. I had certain beliefs installed in me from the outset.
‘I would hope that over time I’ve grown up, matured. There are still things I stand by, and maybe if I’d done things differently I wouldn’t have learnt as much as I have, but if I had my time again, I would do many things differently. I can now understand why so many people back home disliked me.’
One of the things Watson would do differently relates to his call-up to White’s Springbok squad in the World Cup year.
‘I do regret now that I went to the camp when the coach didn’t want me. I was as wrong in doing that as Jake was in publicly criticising Schalk Brits and me for no reason. But I did things back then that weren’t always my choice. I was made to feel that I had to attend the camp as part of a cause, to satisfy the people who had pushed for my inclusion.
‘In reality I was a political pawn. I felt that my intentions were noble, that I was advancing some cause, but I also knew I didn’t want to be there any more than Jake and the rest of the Springbok players wanted to have me there. In hindsight it was wrong, and while I was cross with Jake for the things he said, two wrongs definitely don’t make a right.’
Watson says he was disappointed when he heard that Springbok captain John Smit, in his autobiography, had referred to him as the cancer in the team that undermined the first Bok Tri-Nations campaign of the Peter de Villiers era. But even though he clearly thinks Smit went a bit far, his mood towards the captain is a conciliatory one.
‘In all fairness, from my side, the way I look at it now, I can see where John was coming from. I didn’t want to be there, and John knew it. That knowledge must have made it difficult for him and the rest of the team,’ says Watson. ‘What I don’t buy, though, is that I was the cause of the Bok losses that year. That doesn’t make sense. How can one guy derail an entire campaign? It wasn’t as if I was even an important member of the squad, I was only a reserve most of the time.
‘I don’t think I was a massively disruptive influence then, but there were things I disagreed with, and it’s another issue that, were I to have that time again, I would approach differently. I am much more mature now, and though I will never apologise for calling a spade a spade and fighting for things I feel strongly about, there are a few questions I have to ask myself.
‘Was I the positive influence that I should have been? No. Was I constructive enough in my approach? No. I shouldn’t have been there, my mindset was all wrong.’
Watson’s leadership credentials and ability to inspire others have never been questioned, but his appointment as captain of Bath earlier this year should have confirmed it to any remaining doubters. Springbok assistant coach Gary Gold knows many people who are part of the Bath set-up, and he says the way Watson has been accepted there as a leader should be seen as a massive tribute to him.
‘There are some really experienced and potentially difficult older guys in the club, and yet I hear from people that I’m connected with, and from Butch James, who plays there, that Luke is really enjoyed and respected by everyone at Bath,’ says Gold.
Gold reckons Watson has been misunderstood for much of his career, and believes he can make a massive contribution to South African rugby if he returns after the next World Cup. For his part, Watson would love to do that.
‘I do feel that I have unfinished business in South Africa, and I am really passionate about the country. It relates to what I said earlier about not being constructive enough before. I would like to go back at a later stage in my career and make a more productive contribution to the game there. I would like to be a good role model for younger players, to offer something positive.’
From a playing viewpoint, Watson is convinced that even at 26, his best playing days are still ahead of him.
‘The move has been a step forward for me as a player, I have learnt so much. The captaincy challenge has been interesting too. At WP I was leading a team made up mostly of youngsters, but here I’m leading players like Lewis Moody and Danny Grewcock, guys who have a lot of Tests for England under their belts.
‘Rugby is less cut-throat and brutal here. You’re allowed to have one or two bad games every now and then without being totally written off and ridiculed. But I also find that there’s a much greater reliance on strategy here, and it has been good to experience that.’
– This article first appeared in the October issue of SA Rugby magazine.
332 Comments
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26 Oct 2010, 10:03 am
g10 will be running for the toilet paper when he sees this article.
26 Oct 2010, 10:04 am
yawning dragons
26 Oct 2010, 10:04 am
and whoopass dragons
26 Oct 2010, 10:05 am
Luke whoopass Dragon!
26 Oct 2010, 10:06 am
Well I decided long time ago I am not interested in commenting on sideshows specifically with regards to Luke Watson, who I reckon is a very decent rugby player and captain.
That said, I cannot fault the oke for realising his mistakes, and admitting to it.
26 Oct 2010, 10:07 am
I see I’m waaaaaay too late! Sorry guys. As I said on a previous post – there were guys during the reign of JW who deserved a FAIR chance and didn’t get it.
26 Oct 2010, 10:10 am
6. GoBokkeAndIreland(GoBokkeAndIreland): there are always guys who deserve a fair chance and don’t get it, regardless of coach. unfortunately there are only 22 spots available in the team.
26 Oct 2010, 10:15 am
@7 – Glad you’re 1 of the sane people who realize that! I’ve been saying exactly the same thing for ages! 22 places in a match-day squad, 15 starting! Agree with your sentiments – always gonna be good guys who get left out.
26 Oct 2010, 10:20 am
Puke Twatson must stay in England.
He must die there and they can bury him there. Noone cares.
26 Oct 2010, 10:22 am
There’s a reason why there are age requirements for holding political office – I believe it’s 35 years to be a senator or president in the US.
The fact is, a kid in his early 20′s doesn’t have the maturity to be making statements on political and social matters.
One of the weaknesses in today’s society is the influence that the opinions of immature youngsters have on social trends, culture and even on the outcome of elections – such as the massive percentage of young people that voted for Barack Obama simply because he was hip, cool and in touch with the MTV generation.
As it turns out, his policies are turning into a massive failure and all indications are that the Dems are in for a pounding come mid-term elections.
The point is, we attach to much value to the opinions of young sportsmen, whose stature have more to do with how far they can kick a ball or how hard they can run into people than with any particular intellectual capability.
Who cares what this little twerp thinks. My guess is he is seeing for the first time how a civilized society behaves and realises that the issues that so many of the reactionaries in his home country raised actually had a lot of merit after all.
26 Oct 2010, 10:25 am
Didnt this article appear in some English Press about a month ago?, somehow I feel I have read this before.
I find it disingenious to say that Luke only realized or accepted that he was a political pawn once he arrived in England, in fact the truth is the contrary, thats why so many of you hate him after all.
26 Oct 2010, 10:26 am
a political yawn.
26 Oct 2010, 10:27 am
tac, when you talk about something other than the bulls, you actually make a bit of sense.
26 Oct 2010, 10:27 am
Hi Hank Whooopaaass, how you doing with your spoilt goods, are the guys from Customs Excise still giving you ****?
26 Oct 2010, 10:31 am
Peanut
Hehe.
26 Oct 2010, 10:33 am
Luke Watson should be in Bok team now as openside flank. Without any question. This past weekend he was outstanding in a game v Leicester Tigers. The guy is so talented. Even when Loftus was baying for his blood in S14, he just stole the show and nearly stole Gerhard vd Heever’s jersey, Lol. In fact he used to actually have a blinder every time he played at Loftus. I remember in 2006, his perfomance in Currie Cup was so brilliant that is was ridiculous.
26 Oct 2010, 10:34 am
Xhosa
That report contained factual inaccuracies. The cans of Whoopass had in fact not reached their expiry date. Instead, they were just delivered to the wrong address.
Truth is, they have a very long shelf-life. They are therefore in storage at the moment, for use during the S15. Delivery address still to be determined.
26 Oct 2010, 10:35 am
16. jerry1(jerry1): are you grant10?
26 Oct 2010, 10:35 am
Luke the bigest d00s in the world. Went through my emails the other day and came across those banners @ Loftus! .. you don’t mess with Blou Bull Dutchmen! jy k@k
26 Oct 2010, 10:36 am
16. jerry1(jerry1): in 2006 luke was McCaw-like in how he dominated the breakdown! to a point even the Bulls coach called him a “CHEAT” a clear sign of respect if you’re an openside flanker!
26 Oct 2010, 10:37 am
strange … i remember Gerhard vd Heever given Luke a snot klap
26 Oct 2010, 10:39 am
political prawn
26 Oct 2010, 10:41 am
I see this descendin into a dutchies vs the rest discussion. prepare the laager and sharpen the assegais. this is going to get messy
26 Oct 2010, 10:43 am
23. pompies2(pompies2): i’ve already got my staaldak propped up
26 Oct 2010, 10:44 am
en jou dompas?
26 Oct 2010, 10:48 am
I hope Puke is right when he says
“his best playing days are still ahead of him.”.
Because he’s been rather poor for Bath this season. In fact, so poor at times he’s been subbed shortly after HT. As Capt.
26 Oct 2010, 10:48 am
14. Trans
Don’t forget your cowhide shield. Also summon the ancestors to be the 3rd force in the battle. And while you at it, get a side order of tokoloshes to add some spice.
26 Oct 2010, 10:52 am
pumpies
eish.
it really isn’t worth it.
its old history.
just like blood river.
26 Oct 2010, 10:52 am
26. Not true. He’s done well. He was subbed in 1 game after half time because of a rib injury. They did lose that home game though. I think him and Thomas ‘tank engine’ Waldrom are the 2 leading loosies.
26 Oct 2010, 10:59 am
28. Gunther
And what do they say about history repeats itself, but only in a different guise. Somehow the dutchmen comment is unforgivable, but daily we hear about ****** comments on the forum.
I’m just playing the battlefield commentator. Live from the frontline.
26 Oct 2010, 11:02 am
Pompies
well, from a neutral perspective, he’s been rather poor. The number of passes that have gone behind the man; slipped tackles; fumbles off the deck……well, Ive seen 4 Bath matches this season incl 1 Live, and Puke was really off the pace. In English rugby !
Fair dues, I didnt see the Leicester match that Jerry refers to and I do remember him playing well for Province vs Bulls once a while back (when he blew kisses etc to the crowd). But he certainly commands more press for unrelated-rugby issues than he does for the rugby ones.
26 Oct 2010, 11:02 am
26. Black Panther(Black Panther): and why would you call him puke? hehehe some people
26 Oct 2010, 11:07 am
Transie
I have no beef with the guy as a player. But any sympathy flew out the window with his comment about puking on the Jersey.
Just as disgraceful as plastering it with self-serving ignoramus nonsense forged from the deep volcanic pit of Persecution theories as
Justice4.
26 Oct 2010, 11:08 am
This article is really poor. It’s just a platform for Luke Watson to air his view and regrets. Almost seems like a political speech to reconcile with the (rugby) electorate/fans, which is what the title of the article essentially rejects! No probing questions or unexpected answers. And I’m a fan of the guy!
Did Luke Watson actually pay for this poor piece of ‘journalism’ to be printed in SA Rugby, or is the payment allowing Mark Keohane to write his autobiography in a few years time – I believe Keo was in Bath recently and had lunch with the Watsons.
26 Oct 2010, 11:09 am
33. Black Panther(Black Panther): did you understand the context of that comment? if you do please share.
26 Oct 2010, 11:09 am
Black Panther
It doesn’t sound like an entirely neutral perspective to me. Why would they make him captain after only a few months if he was struggling at this level?
Luke made things very difficult for himself in South Africa and said a lot of things he shouldn’t have , but despite all of that he remains a great rugby player in my eyes.
26 Oct 2010, 11:10 am
Blackie
lucky you are a kiwi.
otherwise you would be accused of “having an agenda”.
there is no known cure for having an agenda.
it is fatal on keo.
26 Oct 2010, 11:18 am
What’s going on here.
26 Oct 2010, 11:20 am
what’s all the fuss about pukey isn’t even close to our incumbents so why would he want to come back, does he think he has a chance at making the Bok team…ha ha
26 Oct 2010, 11:20 am
Transformation
perhaps an article from the archives, cut’n'pasted here verbatim but with the special words in bold, might provide the ‘context’ your after ?
run along now.
26 Oct 2010, 11:24 am
Pypkan
not sure fella, just reporting it as I saw it. As Gunther observes, I have no ‘agenda’ here but I suspect Puke was made Capt because he has previous Captaincy experience, is a loose-fwd, and other contenders include Danny Grewcock and Butcher James, neither of whom are particularly gifted in the cerebral department.
26 Oct 2010, 11:26 am
40. BLACK PANTHER(BLACK PANTHER): yes when you’re caught out make gat like the doos you are hahaha
26 Oct 2010, 11:43 am
Transie
I just assume that is an opinion you have cut’n'pasted from someone who HAS an opinion.
26 Oct 2010, 11:45 am
11. XhosaKid(XhosaKid):
Was in the Weekend Argus a coupla weeks back.
26 Oct 2010, 11:47 am
oops looks like its too late for blackie.
not even being a kiwi could save him.
it’s all over now baby blue.
in lieu of flowers please make a donation to Sheepish Victims of Sexual Abuse.
26 Oct 2010, 12:02 pm
43. Black Panther(Black Panther): yes, this is about me, and not how you are talking kak about lukw with no factual basis…double doos
he said he’ll puke on the jersey, why black panther?
now quit you childish obfuscation and answer the simple question
26 Oct 2010, 12:05 pm
45. gunther(gunther): the unique thing about him, he is throwing stones yet he doesn’t even have cause “agenda”. how inane is that?
26 Oct 2010, 12:10 pm
Maybe he’d been out eating prawns the previous night with the ABs ?
It could have been nausea induced by an insufferable inability to accept defeat without excuse ?
Most likely it came down to facing the Haka.
Surely it had nothing to do with ‘history’ tho, Transformation.
Gee, if only I knew where to get my hands on the relevant article….
26 Oct 2010, 12:12 pm
Its a pity the only thing worth interviewing the Puke are his “transformation” views… Nothing worthwhile about his rugby… How long until Bath realise that they have a dud player… There are not enough sympathetic Cape Town journalists in Bath falling over themselves to prove their “transformation” credentials to sustain the hype of the Puke…
The next story will be about the Pukes journey back home to South Africa after he discovers he is seen as nothing special in England… Where he is seen as just another japie…
But the story will go something like the prodigal returns… Maybe he will Captain EP, if they offer him enough moolah…
26 Oct 2010, 12:13 pm
Gunther @ 45
now, I like my humour with a twist of the cryptic and obscure but you got me there. Atleast your ‘sheep’ jokes are slightly more clever than Boy Georges tho. Altho, it must be said, so is the neighbours’ overweight labrador.
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