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12th April 2021
03:53pm BST
"I wouldn’t take Watson," Jones has stated. "I think [Lions head coach Warren] Gatland might. In fact, for various reasons he probably will. But I still would not." "The Lions will meet a massive scrummaging front row, which will be replaced after half-time by a massive scrummaging front row," he adds. "They will face the two biggest locks the game has ever seen and a back row of crushing, front-on power. The idea that the Boks are going to allow a dainty Lions flanker to nip in and spoil the party is fanciful."Watson may not be the biggest back-row in the game right now - far from it - but he is a very effective ball-carrier and a nuisance on the deck. "Going back a couple of years," Scotland captain Stuart Hogg told House of Rugby, "I think Wales missed something like 15 tackles in the whole Six Nations and, believe it or not, 10 of them were on Hamish, on this one run. Honestly, I've never seen anything like it. He bounced 10 boys on the one run." https://www.instagram.com/p/CNZ4yK8j-Mm/ The Welsh scribe says the size reason is the same one that would see him leave Justin Tipuric and Josh Navidi at home, were he tasked with selecting a touring squad. As we have previously noted, he would not bring CJ Stander on the tour either. He wants big back-rows, so it is 'thanks but no thanks' to that trio and Hamish Watson.
Needless to say, once Scottish rugby supporters copped their eyes on the latest Jones column, they blew several gaskets and took to social media to start ringing bells and lighting signal fires across the land.
To start, one did not need to look far. In that column's comments section, John Southcott pointed out that is about the same weight and stature as flankers such as David Pocock, Ardie Savea, Sam Underhill, Sam Cane and Michael Hooper.
That point was vociferously made across the social media platforms, with others chiming in with their thoughts:
https://twitter.com/thistlerugbypod/status/1381533785951453186
https://twitter.com/GJBlanc/status/1381264176623054854
https://twitter.com/iainhay82/status/1381241620473995266
https://twitter.com/CammyBlack/status/1381191974343077888
Jones did mention Underhill in his piece but not that the Bath and England flanker is 'a completely different animal'. For the record, Underhill is the same height as Watson but listed as three kgs heavier.
When it comes to the crunch, expect Watson to travel this summer. With Gregor Townsend and Steve Tendy set to be named on the Lions coaching staff, this set-up could have a much heavier Scottish influence than the past five tours.
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