SCOTLAND’S leading Winter Olympics contenders appeared to set the tone for the week yesterday with results falling very much in line with expectations as the men’s event at the Scottish Curling Championships got under way in Perth.
There were wins for defending champions Team Brewster, Olympic silver medallists Team Murdoch and Team Smith, the first Scottish men to reach a Grand Slam final in Canada earlier this season.
However, first off the ice were world junior champions Team Mouat who enjoyed a morale-boosting success earlier this month at the World University Games (WUGs).
After leading his side to a 7-2 victory over Team Telfer, skip Bruce Mouat said: “Winning the WUGs was fantastic. We gained a lot from playing in a major championships and we’re one of the few teams here that have done that this year.”
Mouat’s team were quickly followed into the dressing rooms by the defending champions, whose skip Tom Brewster, has had to shrug off a heavy cold in the build-up to the event. “I’m not 100 per cent, but I’m feeling way better,” said Brewster after an 8-3 win over Team Hamilton.
Brewster’s team claimed threes the first two times they held the hammer, to be in a position to control the match. He added: “We were in control as soon as we got the first three. We should have lost a two straight back because we gave them an opportunity when I think my last stone might have picked up, but they didn’t get it and whenever we had the hammer we scored and we scored big, so that was nice to see.”
Brewster’s Sochi Olympic team-mates had to work harder for their win before skip Dave Murdoch’s take-out with the final shot of the final end sealed a 4-2 victory over Team Taylor, but Murdoch was satisfied with the way they had started. “Every team here this week will give challenges in different ways. Today’s opponents were a bit of an unknown quantity, but you’ve just to deal with that,” he said.
Perhaps the most controlled performance came from Kyle Smith’s rink. They claimed a three at the opening end against Team Fraser and did not concede a shot until the seventh end, before wrapping things up 6-1 with a two at the eighth.
The other winners on the opening day of the 10-team contest were Team Hardie, who reached the quarter-finals of the prestigious Perth Masters last month. They ran out 7-3 winners against Team Whyte, the beaten finalists at last month’s Scottish Junior Championships.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here