Jamie Bhatti on facing old club Bath and his plans with former Glasgow team-mate

Jamie Bhatti enjoyed his time at Bath and made some good friends in his stint at the Rec but when he returns there with Glasgow Warriors on Saturday the Scotland prop is confident he can get one over on his old side.

Jamie Bhatti will face former club Bath for Glasgow Warriors this weekend. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

A 45-17 win over Zebre in Parma has left Glasgow in good fettle for the opening game of their Challenge Cup campaign. The result in Italy was the first away victory of the Franco Smith reign and came as a mighty relief to players and management. As Bhatti noted with a grin: “We've got the elephant off our back.”

The Warriors squad now pack their trunk and head to Bath where a different sort of challenge awaits, but one the loosehead is familiar with, even if there is a new man – Johann van Graan – in charge.

“Neal Hatley [forwards coach] is still there, Luke Charteris [lineout coach], Mark Lilley [academy coach]. I think they've only changed the head coach with Johann coming in.

“I imagine they’ll have the same base of players with a few extras. I imagine they’ll still want to play the way they played when I was there, with the physicality they bring. I imagine they’ll want to be physical this weekend with a good set-piece. Obviously, Luke Charteris is still the lineout coach and he won't have changed much. I think they will definitely come with that maul and scrum mindset that they've got.”

Bhatti spent the second half of the 2020-21 season with the West Country club. It was in the midst of the Covid pandemic which meant no fans at games and no socialising with team-mates. PlayStation proved a godsend, with Bhatti able to link up online with his new colleagues to play Call of Duty.

“I enjoy playing PlayStation so I did that with the boys a fair bit. In lockdown it was a way of staying in touch. I'd sit there with a crate of lager and play COD [Call of Duty] till four in the morning. That was my lockdown anyway. I go to Costco, get my crate of beer, go home and play COD till all hours.

“They are all good lads. It's like any club you join – you make mates with the boys.

“I’m looking forward to playing against them. I really enjoyed my time at Bath but it will be good to go down there and try and get one over on them. It's the competitive side of you.”

Win or lose, Bhatti is planning to meet up with his old Glasgow team-mate D’Arcy Rae after the game.

“I was on the phone to D’Arcy last night. I'll catch up with him after the game. D’Arcy calls a spade a spade. He played for this club 80 or 90 times so it will be good for him this weekend to play against us. Depending on selection, I’ll maybe be scrummaging against him, but that's the beauty of rugby. You go toe to toe with each other for 80 minutes and then go for a beer with him and stay in his house after the game.”