SAS Australia: Merrick Watts reveals unusual tactic used to win

Comedian Merrick Watts joined Sabrina Frederick and Nick ‘Honey Badger’ Cummins as the trio selected at the conclusion of SAS Australia last night, and it turns out the Aussie star leaned on a very unusual trick throughout his gruelling ordeal.

The radio host and comic says it wasn’t pure grit, a secret resource of energy or a physical technique that saw him overcome the final interrogation, but rather a mental peruse through his favourite vineyards.

Merrick Watts on SAS Australia tactic wine counting
Merrick Watts revealed the tactic he used to get through the brutal SAS interrogation. Photo: Seven

Yep, the notorious wine lover said in the darkest moment he had on the show, he escaped to a mental wine tasting of his top Aussie drops, confessing the trick was a big part of his ultimate selection.

Speaking on Nova 96.9’s Fitzy & Wippa this morning, Merrick made the startling admission that it was his love of Rieslings, and not simply his love of working out that he credits with his success.

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‘We’re talking about the interrogation... it’s pretty full on,” he told the radio team. “They put on discombobulating sound effects, they restrict your breathing, your eyesight so basically the idea is that they shut down all of your sensors except for the physical sense which is just in distress position so the only thing you can focus on is the pain.”

The recruits were put through the hours-long interrogation as one of the final challenges.

When asked how he mentally got through the hours of interrogation, Merrick responded: “We all know I love wine, so [during] a 30 or 40 minutes cycle in a stress position I completely dived into how many different types of Riesling I like from Australia.”

Merrick Watts holds glass of white wine SAS Australia tactic
Merrick said mentally walking through his favourite wines kept him unbreakable during the tough challenge. Photo: Seven

“I’m not joking,” he continued. “They said it’s time for you to go get brutalised I was like, ‘Mate, whatever!’ I’m like, ‘I’m in the Clare Valley, whatever!’”

Merrick previously opened up on the show about his experience with depression that spurred him to give the arduous program a go.

In an interrogation with SAS Directing Staff in an earlier episode, Merrick admitted that after he stopped working in radio in 2017 he found himself losing his identity and his peace of mind.

When asked why he was on the show he said he was looking to ‘rebuild himself’.

“It just got to a point before this came along I lost some of my confidence,” he told the staff, who couldn’t believe it when their most stoic recruit admitted he was a comedian off the show.

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