The winner of the inaugural iafrica.com mailbox, Bruce Kay, believes Luke Watson will indeed be missed in South Africa. Do you agree with him?

Yes, Luke Watson will certainly be a loss to South African rugby - maybe not a loss to your hearts, but certainly to your Saturday afternoon entertainment.

Wherever your opinion of him lies, no one can deny the quality of the player - player not person!

For reasons no body really cares to dig into Watson emerged from a volcano of criticism and negativity aimed at the Springbok franchise. For that he suffered a relentless bout of bad press, some may say exaggerated, others may argue it was warranted. Either way he was hung, drawn and quartered by the South African press clearly out for his head.

Come game day, be it briefly in the Green and Gold or more regularly in blue, the man put down a whole hearted effort, worthy of many an accolade.

No one can deny, even his greatest critics, that the media mangled Watson would still put his entire heart into performances. Real body-on-the-line, hard-hitting rugby that, regardless of the person, we all love to watch.

I don?t know about anyone else, but I don?t watch sport - especially rugby - for smiles and polite winks. I want to see big tackles, hard running and spectacular skills.

On paper the players that can produce such attributes are usually worthy of hero status. Not old 'Lukey'. That is what he lays down on the field, and that is where it should have ended.

Instead he felt he ought to take that intensity to the public via emotional, and not necessarily politically correct comments, such as his regurgitation desires that were so well publicised. Tragically that is what has always stood in his way.

Unfortunately with South African sports fans in general, as soon as they lose or are confronted with something out of the ordinary, they are immediately slated and thrown to 'the dogs'.

Thus good sport and good players are often victims of an over sensitive and trigger-happy public.

Although Watson has not helped himself, he deserved more credit then he got. Maybe in a more appreciative arena in the UK he will blossom. Let?s wait and see.

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  • The topic for this week's mailbox will be revealed on Tuesday, so keep your eyes on iafrica.com for the necessary information.