Anthony Watson hails Saracens leaders who can propel teenage wing sensation to nice heights
Still only 19, Noah Caluori announced himself to the world with a five-try breakout game against Sale Sharks in October on his first Gallagher PREM start
Anthony Watson knows just what it is like to be a teenage wing sensation and insists that Saracens prodigy Noah Caluori could not have better mentors for his own meteoric rise.
Still only 19, Caluori announced himself to the world with a five-try breakout game against Sale Sharks in October on his first Gallagher PREM start.
His ability to dominate in the air wreaked havoc against one of the stingiest defences in the league and led to a call-up to train with the England senior team in the autumn.
Doing all that while just out of school might overwhelm some but Watson, who was also still a teenager when he first trained with England before making an international debut at 20, feels that the triumvirate of Owen Farrell, Elliot Daly and Maro Itoje are exactly the right leaders to steer Caluori through this rise to stardom.
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“I can see it in the style of play they are adopting,” said Watson, who is part of the TV team delivering the EPCR Champions and Challenge Cup for Premier Sports this season.
“Owen is not the kind of bloke who will throw you the ball or kick it to you if he doesn’t trust you. And the clear tactic that Saracens are implementing with that cross-field to Noah Caluori means that they have got a good relationship and trust each other. He’s definitely going to be massive for Noah.
“Elliot is probably a bit more of a relaxed character, he’s one of the guys, he’s very kind-hearted and will go out of his way to make sure that everything is ok for Noah, on and off the field. He’ll sit down with him and go through games, Elliot’s not one to be stingy with his time. He’ll be helping him out in a different way.
“Maro will be big for him too. It’s difficult to deal with the sort of rise to stardom that he has had over such a short period, especially considering the kid was at school last year. That is not something that is relatively commonplace. Having Maro Itoje there next to him, you couldn’t ask for a better person, anything Noah has been through, Maro has been through it.
“I’ve no doubt that Maro will be looking out for him and giving him holistic advice on overall career stuff. There is no one better to steer a youngster than Maro.”
Saracens kicked off their Investec Champions Cup campaign in impressive fashion last weekend, beating Clermont 47-10 in a rematch of the 2017 final.
Caluori caught the eye by scoring a brilliant solo effort, one of seven Saracens tries.
They now head to South Africa to take on the Sharks (live on Premier Sports 1 from 2.45pm UK) a team packed with Springbok talent, even if second row Eben Etzebeth will be missing as he serves a 12-week ban for his eye gouge of Alex Mann on international duty.
But while victories away to South African sides have been hard to come by since they joined the competition, Watson is backing Saracens to do just that as the second-best English hope in the Champions Cup behind Gallagher PREM champions Bath.
He added: “I thought Saracens were unbelievable against Clermont. They are in a great position and they have Maro to come back, Jamie George, Ben Earl so barring injuries, they are not going to be any weaker.
“We’ll see what squad they send to South Africa but if those names are in contention, I would be very surprised if they went to South Africa and lost, even though the Sharks have come out and said what they have said about wanting to be more competitive in both the URC and Champions Cup this year.
“I honestly feel like Saracens, in the Gallagher PREM and the Champions Cup, they will be one of the top teams. Out of all the English teams outside of Bath in the Champions Cup, I think they are going to be the team to beat.”
Anthony Watson is part of a 40-strong TV talent team at Premier Sports – the home of Investec Champions Cup across the UK and Ireland with every match live including 21 EPCR Challenge Cup games and all the knock-out stages and Finals. Big Games. Bigger Moments – visit www. premiersports.com to join in on this weekend’s blockbuster action from EPCR Round 2 for just £11.99 a month @ PremSports.tv
