Sevens speedster Watson expected to push on to greater things after deciding Wasps future

Wasps have confirmed that Marcus Watson has signed a new contract, the winger becoming the 11th player to pledge his future to the club in recent months.

The speedster arrived at Ricoh Arena at the beginning of the 2017/18 season after impressing against Wasps when he claimed a Premiership brace for Newcastle Falcons at Kingston Park.

In 24 appearances in the Wasps colours, the 27-year-old has run in 11 tries including a brace at Leicester Tigers earlier this month – with one try witnessing the pacey wideman run 70 metres as he beat five men to accelerate to the whitewash.

After Watson started his senior career at London Irish, he moved to Saracens where he was part of a Premiership Sevens-winning side before spending three years representing England on the World Sevens circuit.

He picked up a silver medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics as part of the Britain Rugby Sevens squad before transitioning back to the 15-a-side format with Newcastle. He later enjoyed more sevens glory in 2017 as he helped Wasps win the Premiership Sevens.

Wasps director of rugby Dai Young said: “Marcus has tremendous pace and that ability to beat the man, as he’s shown many a time.

“It’s certainly been a bit frustrating for him with injuries halting his chance to play some more regular rugby, but hopefully he can really push on now and string together a good run of games.”

Watson added: “This is a fantastic club and I’ve certainly settled into life in the surrounding area. For me now it’s all about trying to stay injury-free and get plenty of game time under my belt to show what I can do and help the club rise up the table.”