Speed no issue for Liam Watts as Castleford Tigers get off to flier

GETTING wed, enjoying a decent holiday and suffering some frustrating injuries means it has taken Castleford Tigers’ Liam Watts a little longer than expected to get up and running this season.
Castleford's Liam Watts is tackled by St Helens' Morgan Knowles and Luke Thompson. Picture: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.comCastleford's Liam Watts is tackled by St Helens' Morgan Knowles and Luke Thompson. Picture: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
Castleford's Liam Watts is tackled by St Helens' Morgan Knowles and Luke Thompson. Picture: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com

Nevertheless, the talented prop – hoping to earn his England Test debut against Australia this autumn – certainly looks the part now having helped his side to an impressive 28-14 win over champions St Helens on Sunday.

Watts was outstanding last year, making the Man of Steel shortlist while earning a call-up to the World Cup Nines tournament in Sydney and he was towering once more against Saints.

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He has been included in Shaun Wane’s initial England group who are being considered for places in the Ashes at the end of the year.

Castleford Tigers' Jake Trueman celebrates his try against St Helens on Sunday. Picture: Tony JohnsonCastleford Tigers' Jake Trueman celebrates his try against St Helens on Sunday. Picture: Tony Johnson
Castleford Tigers' Jake Trueman celebrates his try against St Helens on Sunday. Picture: Tony Johnson

But the former Hull FC forward told The Yorkshire Post: “I’ve just been finding my feet again.

“I’ve come back having obviously had a big season last year.

“But I went to Oz, came back and had a big holiday, got married and that sort of stuff.

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“I’ve probably not done as much as I did do the off-season before, when I trained all the way through.

15 March  2020 .....    Castleford Tigers' Michael Shenton is tackled by St Helens' Theo Fages at Wheldon Road on Sunday. Picture: Tony Johnson15 March  2020 .....    Castleford Tigers' Michael Shenton is tackled by St Helens' Theo Fages at Wheldon Road on Sunday. Picture: Tony Johnson
15 March 2020 ..... Castleford Tigers' Michael Shenton is tackled by St Helens' Theo Fages at Wheldon Road on Sunday. Picture: Tony Johnson

“So I have come back a bit under-done and then picked up a big hammy tear which was strange for me.

“I’m just taking each week as it comes, getting back fully fit and back to how I was.

“I felt a lot better in myself lungs-wise on Sunday and like I had a bit of speed back.

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“I’ve been concentrating on doing a bit of speed at training and getting that yard of pace back. I felt good.”

It is with rich irony, then, that the season is now suspended for almost the next three weeks due to the coronavirus.

The decision did not surprise the 29-year-old who added: “We had a chat on Saturday at our team-run before Saints about how it was looking like a minimum of four weeks.

“With the football getting suspended to April you could see it being the same.

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“I’m not sure what will happen but I think we’ll still be training in some form, looking to stay fit and keeping as agile as we can.”

Castleford’s pack undoubtedly looked agile and powerful as it tore into their opponents at the weekend, laying the platform for former Saints scrum-half Danny Richardson to set in motion a number of cutting raids down the right.

Tigers built up a 14-0 lead with some clinical play and Watts – who impressed against current England props Alex Walmsley and Luke Thompson – admitted: “We had a really good start.

“There’d been a lot of speculation about it being our last game for a few weeks so we just wanted to have a good start.

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“There was a lot riding on it as with Wigan getting beat, it meant we moved joint-top again with them. So it was a big win for us and a big one generally.

“We knew the start would be massive and I think we just knocked it out of them in that first 20 minutes.

“They weren’t the usual Saints but was that due down to us being good? Maybe.”

It was Castleford’s fifth win from their opening seven games, an encouraging start before a halt to the season that no one could ever have imagined.

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Watts had missed the previous week’s 9-8 loss at Warrington Wolves due to a finger injury suffered in the win at Hull KR.

Coach Daryl Powell had feared he would miss up to six weeks of action having endured a similar problem last season.

However, the Featherstone-born front-row discovered the damage was not as bad as first feared and was able to line up to cause more pain for Saints who have now lost four games already, more than they did in the entire 2019 campaign.

Watts explained: “They are just awkward ones more than anything, from just getting whacked on them all the time.

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“It is fractured. The tendon did come off. But it was in a different place to the one I did last year at KR.

“I was thankful for that and I’ll just get on with it now and manage it. Although we’ve got three weeks off anyway!”

Meanwhile, Castleford will visit York City Knights, the Championship club coached by their former player James Ford, in the Challenge Cup sixth round.