Anthony Watson was on holiday in Fiji when he bumped into his assailant. It brought back memories of the Lions Test where an All Black turned his lights out with a red-card tackle. But Watson was not spooked by New Zealand two years ago and has no fear of them now.

Sonny Bill Williams was the tackler in Wellington in a second Test the Lions won 24-21 en route to a series draw. Williams, who was banned for four weeks for smashing into Watson’s head with his shoulder, is in the New Zealand squad who face England on Saturday.

“Yeah, it was completely random,” Watson says of the unscheduled Fiji reunion a fortnight after the series finished. “Everyone was cracking up in the hotel, but we were just sat there as if nothing had happened. I know it was a massive swing of momentum in terms of the Test and the impact it had, but I didn’t see it as the big deal that was made out – that there was a massive drama, and that we were going to hate each other for the rest of our lives, or anything like that. We just talked about all kinds of stuff; about rugby and about his family and stuff like that. It was just a general conversation – we didn’t talk about the tackle.”

Watson, who played superbly against Australia in Oita, is no more perturbed by meeting New Zealand in a World Cup semi-final than he was Williams on his holiday. The 2017 Lions tour showed the world champions of 2011 and 2015 to be mortal and Watson has not forgotten the lesson.