Smiths roar their way to world championships

Feb 27 2007

THEY might have amassed 16 Scottish titles between them, but success tasted sweeter than ever for Perth curlers Warwick and David Smith.

Warwick’s rink had to call on all their experience of nerve-fraying matches to finally see off fellow Fair City skip Tom Brewster after an extra-end, in a tense Bruadar Scottish Curling Championship final at the Dewar’s Centre in Perth.

The 4-3 Sunday win paves the way for the Smiths, with colleagues Craig Wilson and Ross Hepburn, to represent Scotland at the world championships in Canada next month.

It’s familiar territory for Warwick and David, but with 150,000 advance tickets already sold for the Edmonton event, the adrenalin will be pumping before they even board the plane.

Yesterday, Warwick (35) reflected on his triumph, saying: “I can’t wipe the smile off my face!

“The whole team just got better and better as the week progressed and we had to fight hard for victories.

“Three or four matches went down to the last stone. But we have bags of experience and held our nerve.

“It’s my seventh title and David’s ninth. I think we’ve got 21 among the rink. What’s driving us on? You just never tire of pulling a Scotland shirt over your head.

“I always get a real sense of pride when that happens. And we have certainly timed it right, with the worlds being held in Canada this year. It will be a huge event.”

Warwick confessed his rink had tried to balance family and work commitments with their curling, restricting appearances to the domestic front.

“Everything had been out of kilter for myself and Craig during the build-up to the Olympics. But I think we’ve got the balance right.

“I’m delighted for Craig because he retired after the Olympics and missed out on the world gold medal. He’ll get his chance now. Dave might be 43 but he proved any doubters wrong. He was phenomenal all week. The stone still goes precisely where he wants it to go.

“The first time I won with Dave was in 1996 but you can still see how much it means to us both.

“Ross and I go a long way back as well. We were in a team which lost to Gordon Muirhead in the 1995 final. This goes a long way to putting that right.”

Surprisingly, David Murdoch’s world champions failed to make the last three of the Bruadar-backed event, which lured the crowds to Perth Ice Rink.

Warwick beat Tom Brewster 5-3 to reach the final, leaving his rival to fend off Gordon Muirhead 6-2 in a Sunday morning head to head.

“The final started off in cat and mouse fashion but it started to go in our favour at the fifth end. Tactics changed and it made for an exciting last few ends,” he said.

In the Columba Cream Ladies Gold League, Stirling’s Kelly Wood beat GB Olympic veteran Rhona Martin 8-5 to defend her title. Perth’s Edith Loudon narrowly failed to make the final.

Now Kelly and her rink, Jackie Lockhart, Lorna Vevers and Lindsay Wood, head to the worlds in Japan.

Commenting on the Scottish Liqueur Centre’s inaugural sponsorship of the national curling championships, managing director Kenny Mackay said: “We were delighted with the event and grateful to the ice rink team for their professionalism.

“We believe curling is a fine fit for our Bruadar and Columba Cream brands, given the sport’s high profile at home and abroad.”