Former Highland Wildcats back class of 2022 to go all the way in Britbowl to become UK champions for fourth time in Cambridge
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
The current group of Highland Wildcats show the characteristics of champions, according to former Britbowl winners.
Colin Hamilton was part of the squad that won back-to-back UK titles in 2014 and 2015, becoming only the second team to retain their crown.
Now a coach at the club, Hamilton sees plenty of similarities between his squad and the class of 2022.
“I see a lot of the same characteristics that we showed,” he reasoned.
“They have really pulled together, and they’re looking like a team that are confident and have a chance of going down and pulling it off.
“They’re looking for us as coaches to push them harder, and that’s something we looked for our coaches to do. We were always asking if there was something extra to make us better.
“That’s what we’re starting to see from this group now, and that’s one of the most promising things.”
Ally Gibson will not be heading down to the south of England with the squad, but he has seen them come together to be in a good position to challenge.
“It’s a relatively new squad in general,” he explained.
“There are a couple of senior players, but even our quarterback was our centre last year and he’s absolutely shining.
“I think all the coaches are quite surprised at how far this group has gone in such a short amount of time, but the staff we’ve got are very experienced guys that are really good at dealing with players.
“I think it’s the first time in a while that a team has properly gelled together in all aspects.”
Former Wildcats quarterback Euan Trommino is optimistic over the current crop’s chances – but he thinks they have to be careful to prepare properly.
“I’m cautiously optimistic, but when this team plays well, they’re unstoppable,” he said.
“Where they lack is – let’s say they have a poor warm-up, that affects the whole team aura sometimes. It’s little nit-picky things that I’ve never seen before in a team that throws the whole team off completely.
“When they’re on their game, it’s really satisfying to watch them play – it makes me feel young.”
