Mouat aims to land early jab on Gushue in Las Vegas

In boxing-mad Las Vegas, Edinburgh’s Bruce Mouat is aiming to land an early blow on title contender Brad Gushue of Canada in today’s first round-robin match at the World Curling Championships, writes

Gushue and Sweden’s Niklas Edin are the title favourites, especially as Olympic champion John Shuster is not representing the host nation, but Mouat and his rink of Hammy Mcmillan, Bobby Lammie and Grant Hardie have enjoyed a superb season, winning six tournaments and becoming the first Scotsmen to lift a Grand Slam title at The National in Ontario.

They booked their place in Nevada by beating GB Olympic skip Kyle Smith in a best-of-three play-off.

Mouat said: “It’s been a long season but a good one, and I think the adrenaline will help us through.

“We’ve really clicked as a unit, we understand each other really well and we know what we all have to do. We feel ready.

“Our results this season have given us lots of confidence, but we’re stepping up to the next level now. This will be something different for us. I’ve had success in previous championships, and I’ll try to use all the experience I’ve gained. They’re all going to be amazing teams in Vegas.

“There’s so much depth that the games are all difficult whoever you play. John Shuster winning the Olympics was a big surprise, but it just shows you what’s possible if you produce your best form on the biggest stage.

“The first match is probably the best time to play them [Gushue’s team].

“Both times we’ve played them before, we’ve run them very close. In major tournaments, you always try to get your first win as early as possible.

“A championship is a championship and it doesn’t matter what you’ve achieved before. In these events, you have to produce your best form when it matters. If we play well all week, then we know we stand a good chance of making the medal play-offs.”