He was limited to just 23 appearances for Tigers in his two and a half years with the East Midlands club.
But in nine years and 126 games with Bath before that he had solidified himself as one of the Premiership’s most dazzling and high-profile performers.
For England, his 23 tries in 56 appearances has seen him described as a “modern great”.
“It’s hard to say I’ve dealt with it already, because I haven’t,” Watson, who started his career at London Irish, said of his retirement.
“But what gives me peace of mind is knowing I did everything I could do. It’s the way the cookie crumbles, it’s not like I can go back and change what happened.
“You just have to move on – everyone’s career ends at some point, you can’t play forever. Mine was just a bit shorter than I’d have liked.”
He said his retirement was not “a sob story” and would reflect on his time as a player with a smile and look to the future knowing he was physically protecting himself.
“I really enjoyed my career and played a long time,” he said.
“I would have taken all the things that I have done in my career and retiring at 30 if you told me this at 19.
“My body will carry a significant amount of deficiencies as a result of playing rugby, but I think stopping now allows me to do the basic things I need to do as a dad, as a husband and as a son.”
