Fair City curlers Robin Brydone and Duncan McFadzean were victorious at the high-profile Swiss Cup.
The Perth pair, playing with Team Whyte, impressed in the city of Basel to become the first Scots to lift the trophy in eight years.
Brydone and McFadzean - partnering usual team-mates Ross Whyte and Euan Kyle - navigated to the final with an unbeaten record and then edged out Norway’s Team Ramsfjell 6-5 in the showdown.
Former Perth High student Brydone hopes the winning feeling is here to stay for the remainder of the season.
“It was a really great weekend,” he explained to the Perthshire Advertiser this week.
“It has been a little bit of a struggle this season in the sense of we’ve been playing really well as a team, just not getting the results that our performances warranted.
“To come out of the weekend, play as well as we did and then get the result at the end was just brilliant.
“The ball is rolling now and we can start to make something more of this season.
“We were straight out to Canada on Tuesday for another two weeks on tour. We’re hoping the result in Switzerland can spur us on and start a bit of a run.
“We’ll be looking to get into at least another final or hopefully manage to get a couple of wins because we want to make the most of the momentum.”
Brydone believes the team was perhaps placing too much pressure on themselves in the early part of the campaign but this result can be a turning point.
“We had been talking about trying to keep things more lighthearted, not put too much pressure on ourselves and enjoy our curling more, rather than thinking we had to win all the time,” he said.
“If we keep performing and be patient then the results will come. That is what happened at the weekend.”
There was evidence, too, that the team is capable of switching it up when necessary. Tweaks to the line-up were required due to Brydone dealing with a back injury.
Brydone called the shots from the head, while Whyte took on sweeping duties.
“I picked up a slight back injury on the Monday and had some work with the physio,” Brydone explained.
“Because we have a three-week trip back-to-back, we decided I would take skipping duties but still throw third stone so I wouldn’t be sweeping.
“It seems to have worked quite well and is great we have the flexibility in the team to play different positions and not be hindered by it.
“The back is still feeling a little tight but I’ll see how it feels out in Calgary.”
When Brydone came off the ice in Switzerland, a quick phone search revealed there was further reason for celebration. St Johnstone, who he supports, had just defeated Rangers 2-1 at McDiarmid Park.
“It was difficult not to keep an eye on the Saints result,” he smiled.
“So for me there were two good results at the weekend. Ourselves getting the win and then Saints were brilliant.”
