As his club manager John Manson can tell him, Jamie Bhatti is following in grand traditions in representing Scotland’s ‘Wee County’ in the upper echelons of rugby union.
Way back in the mists of time, before the 24-year-old was born, Manson was, along with Rob ‘Budgie’ Cairney and the late Danny Herrington, one of ‘the Tillicoultry Troglodytes’ a unit that was transported by former Scotland captain David Leslie across the Scottish midlands to provide a hard edge to his bid to turn Dundee HSFP into a competitive force in the then high class top division of the club game.
They went on to represent North & Midlands together, Manson earning a Scotland cap and playing alongside the unique Herrington - a man whose passion for scrummaging was partly based on a formidable but bony physique which ensured maximum discomfort for his opponents, regardless of which of them was applying most pressure – for Scotland A.
Bhatti would seem to be from similar stock, a lad from the Clackmannshire town of Sauchie who left school at the age of 15 and built his physical strength in traditional fashion rather than through gym work, lugging around bovine carcasses as a slaughterman, until a couple of years ago when, having started at Hillfoots then developed through the age grades at Stirling County, his potential was identified by Melrose, bringing recruitment to the Glasgow Warriors academy last year, then a full contract to now be within range of an international call-up.
“I’m happy to be here and playing every week. If it happens it happens. I’d love to play for Scotland and I’ll take it if it comes. I’m just 24.”
He has more than enough to deal with in the meantime as an ever present – 10 matches including pre-season friendlies - in a Glasgow Warriors team that has started the Pro14 season well with six successive wins, but was reminded last weekend that the European Champions Cup operates at a different level that the club has never managed to get to grips with, still waiting, as it is, for a first ever win in a knockout tie.
As Bhatti continues to learn his trade there was a trace of denial in his assertion that Exeter’s driving lineout was not successful last weekend because they did not score directly from it. In reality it was the weapon through which they asserted themselves, all three of their tries coming from close range forward-oriented sieges.
Not that he did not acknowledge the step up in standard.
“That was my first European game,” Bhatti noted. “Compared to the Pro14 it’s massive. Exeter are the best team in England and won it last year, they did well in Europe last year as well. The physicality was right up there with anything I’ve faced but you’ve just got to front up. It’ll the same with the other two teams in the group. Leinster (this weekend’s opposition) are a physical team with a few Lions boys in there as well, so it’ll be a test this week.”
As his career progression suggests, Bhatti may be a relatively late developer in the context of the modern professional game, but he has a proven capacity to absorb physical shocks to the system and process it as valuable information.
“I played six games last year during international windows. The first game was Scarlets away and we got a horsing in that game. I canna mind the score but thought to myself this is bit different to running out at Melrose on a Saturday. But it’s like anything the more you play the most you get used to it,” he reflected.“You don’t really get time to sit back and think `I’ve played ten games of pro rugby in a row’. I think I’m coping well Even during pre-season, I was here for the full thing when the Scotland boys were away and you know you want to push on and get the first games in the season under you belt. I’ll play every game if I’m allowed to.”
That sentiment fits well with his heritage.
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