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'I spoke to Tyrone Mings... he handled it [the racial abuse situation] very well'
By Online Editors
Anthony Watson has congratulated his footballer friend Tyrone Mings for not losing his focus when racially abused on his England debut on Monday.
Watson is in Japan preparing for Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final battle with Australia, but he has kept an eye on how the England football team were doing and was appalled at the treatment meted out to Mings and co during their Euro 2020 qualifier away to Bulgaria.
The Aston Villa player tweeted in the aftermath of the unsavoury racist abuse: “I’ll always remember my debut as a moment where our country stood firm, stood tall and stood proud in the fight against discrimination... Oh, and the football wasn’t too bad either.”
Watching from Japan, Watson praised Mings’ attitude not to let the abuse from the terraces distract him from putting in a performance to be proud of. "I spoke to him Tuesday and wanted to congratulate him on his debut, not in an ideal situation but I thought he handled it very well.
"To experience that in your first cap is not exactly an ideal situation but he took it all in his stride and as a mate, I am very happy for him and no doubt he will get many more caps."
(Continue reading below...)
Switching to the rugby quarter-final, Watson admitted he has been doing plenty of homework on Australian threat Marika Koroibete.
Watson started on the right wing in the pool wins over Tonga and Argentina and is now set to confront Koroibete, a try-scorer against Fiji and Georgia in two of his three pool starts at the finals.
"We are working on our adaptability and have been since we have been out here and whatever is thrown at us we will be able to adapt.
”Marika Koroibete (AUS) is a good player and I have been watching him for some time. He is a strong ball carrier with good footwork and we will have to watch him closely. I don’t believe Australia are more competitive than us just because of where they come from and both teams want to win.”
Despite being hampered by injury in recent years, Watson, a 2017 Lions Test series player, has played 39 times for England, not that many caps behind fellow winger Jonny May who is set to win his 50th cap versus the Australians.
"How would you encapsulate him in one word? Fast. He has been a great servant for England and is a special player. He can be so destructive. He works so hard on his game and is very professional always trying to get better and is a great role model for any player coming through."
WATCH: What rugby fans coming to Oita for the quarter-finals can expect at night
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Latest Comments
Who, Berry?! His rudeness to Kolisi, our freaking captain, was there for all to see!! Utterly disgraceful.
Erm, I only had one statement - as in 'only one full stop' so not sure where the 'irrelevance' comes in?
Go to commentsLet's be clear: Foster did not back unaquivocally players such as Vaa'i, Tamaiti and Roigard. Yes, he selected them in the squad, but it's a stretch to say he backed them. Those three players have only been backed fully this year (and thrived) under the new regime. There was massive hesitation to give those three guys serious game time in games of consequence.
It's another not-so-subtle dig from the old dynasty at any achievements Razor may be credited for.
Roigard in particular was a mind-baffling omission from the finals of the WC. After being the AB's best player against SA in the pre-WC match, he was not sighted in the big games that followed. Roigard is the type of guy who can win a game with a moment of brilliance, yet the established but uninspiring Christie was preferred to close out a close WC final.
So please, Fozzie, spare us the barely veiled laments about your unfair treatment and unseen achievements. The fact you feel you have to point them out is telling in itself. And it shows that despite saying you've moved on, you and your mate Hansen most definitely haven't.
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