Hamish Fergus Wallace Watson (born 15 October 1991) is a professional

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who plays as a flanker for

United Rugby Championship The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

club

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. Born in England, he represents

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

at international level after qualifying on ancestry grounds.

Early life

During his early schooling days at

Terra Nova school Terra Nova School is a prep school in Cheshire, England for children from two and a half to thirteen years of age. It began as a school for boys in 1897, and today educates boys and girls. Children aged two and a half to seven attend the pre-pr ...

he won the English schools boys national U13 trophy. He then moved to

Oakham School (Like runners, they pass on the torch of life) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , president ...

and played for Leicester Tigers Academy until the age of 18.

Club career

At the start of his English professional career he moved to Oakham in Rutland and was at the

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

Academy. On moving to Scotland he then played for

Edinburgh Rugby Edinburgh Rugby (formerly Edinburgh Reivers, Edinburgh Gunners) is one of the two professional rugby union teams from Scotland. The club competes in the United Rugby Championship, along with the Glasgow Warriors, its oldest rival. Edinburgh play ...

International career

Although he was born and raised in England, Watson was eligible to represent Scotland due to his grandfather, who was born in Glasgow, in addition to having lived in Scotland since 2011. He progressed to a centrally held Scotland 7s contract in the summer of 2011 before being approached to join the

elite development programme, after a string of impressive showings in the back-row. He made his

Scotland Club XV The Scotland national Club XV rugby union team is one of several national rugby union teams behind the Scottish national side. The national Club XV takes the best players from club rugby in Scotland to form a side that regularly competes with a ...

debut in 2013 while still at

Edinburgh Academicals The Edinburgh Academical Football Club, also known as Edinburgh Accies, is a rugby union club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The club is currently a member of the Scottish Premiership, the top tier of Scottish club rugby. Its home ground is Raeburn Pl ...

Scotland

After impressing for

, Watson made his international debut in the home defeat to Italy during the

2015 Six Nations Championship The 2015 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2015 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 16th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union tournament. It was contested b ...

. His first international try came during the

Autumn Internationals The autumn internationals, November internationals, end-of-year tests, and spring internationals/tour for Australia and New Zealand, are men's rugby union Test matches that are contested around November each year. It is organised by World Rugby. Te ...

of November 2016 as Scotland beat Georgia with his second coming the following summer in the impressive victory over

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. Watson has been a virtual ever-present for Scotland since 2017, garnering numerous Man of the Match awards. Watson was selected in Scotland's squad for the Rugby World Cup in 2019, but suffered a tournament-ending injury in the opening match against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Watson's outstanding run of form up to and including the

2021 Six Nations Championship The 2021 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 22nd Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, ...

, during which he was an ever-present and didn't miss a single tackle during the five matches, saw him ultimately winning the vote for Player of the Championship. In 2023 Watson was selected in Scotland's 33 player squad for the

2023 Rugby World Cup The 2023 Rugby World Cup is scheduled to be the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It is scheduled to take place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the cou ...

in France.

British & Irish Lions

Watson's consistently high standards saw him selected in the 37-man squad for the British & Irish Lions 2021 tour to South Africa. He took to the field for the first tour match against the Sigma Lions at

Ellis Park Stadium Ellis Park Stadium (known as Emirates Airline Park for sponsorship reasons) is a rugby union and association football stadium in the city of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. It hosted the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which was ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, becoming Lion #847. He scored a try within seven minutes and was named man of the match. After performing well in the tour's warm-up matches, he was selected on the substitutes' bench for the first Test, coming on early in the second half as the Lions won 22-17 to lead the series.

Career statistics

International analysis by opposition

Personal life

Watson has gained two nicknames from fans: "The Mish", a shortening of his given name, and "Pinball", in reference to his unique running style which sees him bounce off several players over a short distance whilst carrying the ball. The nickname "Pinball" was given to Watson by the Scottish Rugby Podcast.

References

External links

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Edinburgh Rugby - Hamish Watson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Hamish 1991 births Living people People educated at Oakham School Scottish rugby union players Edinburgh Rugby players Rugby union flankers Scotland international rugby union players Scotland Club XV international rugby union players Scotland international rugby sevens players Edinburgh Academicals rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Scotland Rugby union players from Manchester 2019 Rugby World Cup players 2023 Rugby World Cup players