BHATTI HAS A POINT TO PROVE
SCOTLAND prop Jamie Bhatti would love to play in the World Cup not just to fulfil his dream, but also to prove a point to his former Glasgow Warriors head coach Dave Rennie. The New Zealander was of the opinion that Bhatti was not good enough and allowed him to leave the club at the end of last season.
But the Stirling-born player did not have to wait long before Edinburgh offered him a two-year deal.
However that move didn’t soften the initial rejection from Rennie — which Bhatti hadn’t seen coming.
When asked if making the World Cup squad for Japan would allow him to prove a point to his former Warriors boss, the 25-year-old replied: ‘Aye, I’d say so. I’m confident coming in here with the Scotland World Cup training squad given the last few weeks of the season I had with Glasgow.
‘I started against Edinburgh in the last game of the regulation Pro14 season, then the semi-final against Ulster and the final against Leinster.
‘I was playing some of my best rugby
in those games. That form came at a good time as it helped me get selected for the training squad.
‘Now it’s just about giving my all in the World Cup warm-up games if I get my shot in those, as well as in training.’
The loose-head prop has been impressed by Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill and insists that having a top team to return to after hopefully going to the World Cup had helped his confidence following what happened with Glasgow.
‘I’m happy to have signed for Edinburgh and be given the opportunity to play rugby for another two years, but it’s bittersweet with the way I ended the season with Glasgow,’ he admitted.
‘I would love to have stayed on and played there, but this is the way the game is at times.
‘When I was looking for a contract around Six Nations time, Glasgow didn’t want to sign me. They didn’t want me at that point and they had signed Oli Kebble and Alex Allan.
‘Then I met with Richard Cockerill and really liked what he had to say. At the time, I asked Dave Rennie if he wanted to keep me but I couldn’t get an answer, so Edinburgh came in and that was it.
‘I think it’s a very good move for me given Richard’s experience as a front-row player and working with him will really help me going forward.
‘So, depending what happens with Scotland, if I go to Japan or not it’s just reassuring to know I have a good club like Edinburgh to go back to.’
Bhatti, capped 13 times, is a specialist loosehead prop and is in a three-way fight for the two World Cup spots.
British and Irish Lion Allan Dell, whose move from Edinburgh to London Irish led to Bhatti replacing him at the capital club, is favourite to go to Japan as first choice in that position.
It will either be Bhatti or Gordon Reid, who currently doesn’t have a club after being released by London Irish, who will join him.
‘I’ll be grafting away to make it,’ said Bhatti. ‘Selection is nothing personal. It’s just opinions and that makes it a bit easier when you realise that.’