England star Anthony Watson confirms future with Premiership return
England's Anthony Watson after the Guinness Six Nations match at Twickenham Stadium, London.
England star Anthony Watson has secured a move back to Leicester Tigers and will rejoin the squad in December, the Premiership side has confirmed.
The talented full-back was left without a club at the end of last season and was reportedly linked to multiple Top 14 outfits.
However, none of those deals materialised, and while he was initially selected in England’s Rugby World Cup squad, an injury ruled him out of the tournament.
Watson rejoins Leicester Tigers
He has now inked a deal to rejoin Leicester Tigers, the side he signed for ahead of the 2022/23 season after over a decade at Bath.
“Leicester Tigers have agreed a new deal with Anthony Watson which will see the international return to the club from December,” a Tigers statement read.
“The 29-year-old represented Tigers during the 2022/23 season, after joining from Bath Rugby where he spent a decade and made more than 100 appearances for the Gallagher Premiership club.
“Watson joined Bath in 2013 from London Irish, where he made his professional debut after rising through the junior ranks of the Exiles.
“He represented England at Under-20 level, while with Irish, before making his senior Test debut for England in 2014.
“Watson has 55 international appearances for England, including the 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cups, and has played 5 Test matches for the British & Irish Lions after being selected for the 2017 and 2021 tours.”
In his first season with Leicester Tigers, he made 16 appearances and scored six tries.
The Tigers have endured a slow start to the season and currently sit eighth overall on the standings after three rounds of action.
Dan McKellar’s side lost their opening game of the season 25-14 to Bristol Bears at Ashton Gate and fell to back-to-back losses, going down 24-17 to Sale Sharks at Welford Road.
They notched their first victory of the season against Watson’s former club, Bath, in round three, securing a narrow 25-24 win.
This week, they head to StoneX Stadium to take on defending champions Saracens.
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