The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Bhatti bags vital try for Warriors
Glasgow assistant coach Kenny Murray paid tribute to Jamie Bhatti after he marked his 50th appearance for the club by scoring his second try in as many weeks.
The loosehead prop’s early touchdown proved decisive as the Warriors ground out a hard-fought 13-9 win over the Lions at Scotstoun on Saturday.
Danny Wilson’s team made a strong start to the match and looked equipped to pull away and notch another convincing win over South African opposition after last weekend’s defeat of the Sharks.
However, the Lions refused to buckle and kept themselves in the match right to the very end before succumbing to the narrow loss.
Remarkably, 28-year-old Bhatti – in his second spell with the club after short stints with Edinburgh and Bath – had not scored a try for Glasgow prior to last weekend’s win over Sharks.
Murray said: “He hadn’t scored a try up until last week, and now he’s got two in two games – he’s doubled up!
“It’s great for him. He’s a very well-liked member of the squad, and to reach 50 appearances is a good milestone for any player to achieve.
“He’s really enjoying being back at Glasgow after he didn’t get a lot of rugby along the M8, and you can see that in his play. I think he’s only going to get better and better.”
Glasgow were 10-3 up on the Lions after 16 minutes and looked set to pull away after making a strong start, but the South African side soon gained the initiative and made the hosts, for whom Ross Thompson kicked eight points, work for their victory.
Murray was pleased his side restricted their visitors to just three penalties, all kicked by EW Viljoen.
He said: “To not concede a try against as physical a side as the Lions is very pleasing. They’re a team who have a lot of threats across the park, so the boys can take real heart from that going into next weekend.”
Meanwhile, Edinburgh prop Pierre Schoeman reckons Saturday’s stalemate with Stormers represents a further sign the South African sides are starting to find their feet in the United Rugby Championship.
The four Springbok sides toiled for results on the opening two weekends of the campaign.
On matchday three, however, Sharks and Bulls both picked up victories, Lions suffered a narrow defeat and Stormers fought back from an early 14-0 deficit to draw 20-20 at the Dam Health Stadium.
Schoeman, from Pretoria, believes his countrymen are now getting to grips with playing regularly in the northern hemisphere.
He said: “We obviously wanted to win, but it was a good game. It was physical. We know the South African sides are physical, especially the Stormers.
“It was their third game abroad so they are getting the hang of the refs, the setpiece battles, the kicking games and the weather conditions.”
Edinburgh face more South African opposition next weekend when they host the Bulls, who beat Cardiff at the weekend. Schoeman added: “We’ll need to be switched on. The Bulls are very physical and pride themselves on set-pieces as well. Discipline and no soft tries is going to be key for us.”
Jaco van der Walt was at the heart of Edinburgh’s best moments as he set up the two tries scored by Darcy Graham and Ben Vellacott in the opening six minutes.
He successfully kicked two conversions and two penalties, as all of the points were scored in the first half. Coach Mike Blair said: “Jaco was excellent. I’m delighted with how he’s started the season.”