Eastern Province Rugby told Netwerk24 that Watson contacted them to inform them that he is hanging up his boots – in a very high tree, we hope. Watson is better known for his politics than his on-field antics. He infamously said he wanted to vomit on his Springbok jersey in a political attack on his team mates and claimed rugby in SA was “run by Dutchmen (Afrikaners)”.
When Netwerk24 contacted Watson on Women’s Day, he said: “Today is a public holiday and I’m with my family and not willing to make any comment.”
The 32-year-old played 10 Tests for the Springboks, in all probability mostly because his daddy – rugby administrator and anti-Apartheid loudmouth Cheeky Watson – put pressure on rugby authorities to have his boy elected for the team. Watson also played with varied success for the Junior Springboks, Sharks, Stormers/Western Province, Bath in England and his daddy’s team, the Eastern Province. Here he hardly featured in the past few seasons due to injury while his team mates were not paid salaries due to lack of funds and dodgy administration.
He was also one of the players not offered a contract by SA Rugby to play for the Southern Kings in this year’s Super Rugby competition.
In former Springbok coach Jake White’s autobiography ‘In Black and White – The Jake White Story’, White mentions that he was approached at the start of the 2007 international season by lawyer Brian Biebuyck on behalf of the Watson family. Biebuyck, who was also White’s lawyer at the time, passed a nine-point proposal to White. These included the selection of Watson in the World Cup squad; in return, White’s contract with SA Rugby would be extended beyond the 2007 World Cup. Failure to select Luke Watson would result in him losing his job before the World Cup. White claims that the Watsons subsequently backed down. Luke’s daddy, Cheeky Watson, has denied these claims.
