"I'm glad he's gone now!" – Wales and Ospreys centre Owen Watkin names former All Black Sonny Bill Williams as his toughest opponent
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Ospreys centre Owen Watkin is relishing his new found defensive responsibility for club and country, as he sets his sights on a major career milestone. Watkin started both Tests on Wales' summer tour of Australia, to take his tally of caps up to 41.
Watkin reflected on his international career so far, and wondered who had been the most challenging midfield opponent he had come up against. A difficult question for any experienced Test match player, with the Welshman picking out a duo of Ireland talents as well as some of the top All Blacks of recent years.
"You have got the Irish centres – Bundee Aki, Garry Ringrose – they are always tough, but the hardest one was probably Sonny Bill Williams. That was when we played against New Zealand in the bronze match at the 2019 World Cup.
"As a youngster, I grew up thinking this guy was unbelievable and here I was playing against him! He's someone I thought I'd like to base my game around. You look at someone like that and think I'd love to be that quality of player one day.
"So, playing against someone I had idolised growing up was awesome. It's just his presence. He's such a big bloke. You look at him and think 'How am I supposed to tackle that, how am I supposed to run through that?'
"I carried off a scrum once straight into him and he absolutely teed me off. I thought 'flipping heck!' His presence on the field put a bit of fear in the opposition and his offloading game was undefendable.
"He (Sonny Bill Williams) could do it all. He's such a big bloke, he could run into people and also get the ball away. I'm glad he's gone now!"
Watkin now heads into the new United Rugby Championship season in buoyant mood, as he prepares for Saturday's BKT URC derby opener against Dragons RFC at Rodney Parade. "I felt a massive part of the Ospreys team last year," he said.
"(Ospreys head coach) Toby Booth put his trust in me to deliver the defensive leader role. Gats (Warren Gatland – Wales head coach) put the pressure on me in the summer to deliver that and I do enjoy that. I feel I deliver more when I've got responsibilities.
"When I first came into the Wales squad, you had Jonathan Davies, Jamie Roberts, Scott Williams, Hadleigh Parkes, a lot of boys who had a lot more experience than me, so it's tough to tell them what to do when they've achieved so much more than me.
Watkin made his Test match in the 2017 Autumn Internationals, in a replacement appearence against the Wallabies. Times have certainly changed around the Wales camp since his initial involvement, yet the 27-year-old is enjoying the responsibility of being a part of Gatland’s ever dependable leadership group.
"I'm a bit older in the squad now, because we've got such a young team, so I'm really enjoying that responsibility. Going on tour with Wales, I wanted to put that stamp on the team and make myself known in the squad as a defensive leader. I want to be that guy that people can rely on.
"The coaches put a lot more trust in me over the summer which definitely massively helped my confidence. Obviously, we lost the two Tests on tour, which was frustrating, but I thought our defence was pretty solid."
He continued: "A lot of it is about communication. Gats puts a lot of pressure on me to keep talking in that 13 role. It's a vital role in the defensive line. If I'm a defensive leader, I can't be not talking to other players. If I can get us out of trouble defensively by making a good decision, that's what I like to do.
"If things go wrong, you can look very silly, especially at 13, because you are at that pinch point where if things do go wrong it's probably on you."
Watkin is closing in on the half century of Wales caps, and was quick to point out that he certainly has time on his side. The midfielder is by no means coming up towards the end of his career, so if he can stay fit there is no reason why he could not surpass future milestones in the famous red shirt.
"Probably my proudest part is I have had 41 caps while having three knee operations and being left out of World Cup and Six Nations squads. I obviously want to get to that 50 mark. That's my target now and I want to kick on even more than that.
"Centre is a very competitive position. There are loads of us competing for those two spots, so it's great for Welsh rugby."
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