The Springboks superstar recently revealed how he prays continuously while on the pitch.

Watson speaks unashamedly about his devout Christian faith – and how he puts it before everything, including rugby.

Watson, the son of a high-profile anti-apartheid campaigner, courted controversy in his homeland after he was quoted making critical remarks about South Africa’s white-dominated rugby establishment.

Moving to Bath may well have presented him with the opportunity to leave the political quarrels of South African rugby behind, but Watson says that wasn’t why he upped sticks with his new wife.

“Whatever situation I’m in – no matter how high-pressured or whatever controversy surrounds me – I will take the moral high ground, even if it means it’s detrimental to my career or that I’m going to suffer some consequences,” he said.

protects

“Everything I’ve ever faced in my life, the only way I came through was by realising that there’s a God in heaven who protects me, who watches me and who most of all loves me. Nothing is by fluke and when I had the opportunity of Bath coming up I realised that this is where God wanted me to be, that there was more than just rugby here – that God wanted to do a massive thing not only within the club but within the city.

“I know that he was bringing me to Bath for more than just rugby. I remember the freakish incidents for me to get here and the manner in which it happened.

“It was miraculous. I sat down with my wife and said, ‘This is what is happening, this is the situation. I feel peace in my spirit and I know this is where I have to be.’”