Warrior Roots | Jamie Bhatti

Affectionally known as the Wombat, Jamie Bhatti is a regular face in a Glasgow Warriors jersey. In the 2023/24 season, he became a centurion of the club.

Born in Stirling, Jamie undertook a path to professional rugby through hard work and gradual progression in the grassroot game.

From the abattoir, to originally wanting to become a police officer before securing a contract at Glasgow Warriors in 2016, these are Jamie Bhatti’s Warrior Roots.

Jamie Bhatti made his debut at Glasgow Warriors in November 2016. However, his rugby journey began when he was a child at a club in Tillicoultry.

‘My first memory was when I would have been primary three at school in Tillicoultry. It was two brothers, Cameron and Gregor Barclay, who played at the local club Hillfoots RFC.

‘I’d just moved down from Inverness with my family. I got invited along to Hillfoots and went along one Saturday morning. That was the start of my journey.’

In Inverness, Jamie admits to not having been exposed to rugby before joining Hillfoots.

‘It was my first introduction. In Inverness, I never knew the sport existed, to be honest.

‘Seven-year-old me knew football, and that was it. I thought about it: “Rugby? What’s this?”. Then I went along, and that was it.’

From the minis section at Hillfoots, Jamie transitioned into age-grade rugby at Stirling County.

‘I would have been first year at school when I went to County. They were under 15, 16, 18 teams. At that point, I was training during the week on a Wednesday night, playing on a Saturday.

‘I played pretty much every week for County. Luckily, I didn’t really get many injuries, so I didn’t miss much. I was there all the way through my teens.

‘Stirling County is where I got my first taste of men’s rugby. I was an 18-year-old who played for County seconds XV.

‘Then from there, I worked my way into the first team played. I played from when I was 18 to 22 for four years. I spent three years in the firsts at County. I got to play the B&I Cup and stuff for them.’

At the time, Scottish rugby club legend John Dalziel who saw Jamie’s hard work and potential in the front row.

‘When I was 21, I got an opportunity. John Dalziel coached me in the 20s squad at County. He gave me the opportunity to go into Melrose.

‘It was John’s second season as head coach when I went down. John and Mike Delgetti got me down at Melrose. At that time, I was working full-time, so I was doing the commute back and forth and playing for them at the weekends. After my first year at Melrose, that’s when I got my academy contract at 22 turning 23.’

Surrounded by rugby peers his age who were securing Elite Development Player contracts, Jamie wanted one as well. These contracts were the predecessor to the academy system at Glasgow today.

‘There were guys getting EDPs when I was in my early twenties. There are a few boys, Adam Ashe was one of them, that got one. I’ve been friends with Ashey for years. Ashey was at Glasgow. But there were lots of teens and boys getting EDP contracts. I was working in an abattoir at the time so I wanted anything rugby could give me.

‘I wanted an EDP contract.

‘Rugby is different for youngsters than when you’re an adult: how you play the game and how you see it. I was still very new to it in under 18/20s as well.

‘I was sitting on the prospect of getting an EDP contract. Not knowing if you’ll get one at and 20/21, you think it’s going to pass you by, but I was still striving for it. In my 20s, I was striving. I really wanted it.

‘I was always striving for a contract then, but for some reason, I never fitted the bill at that point.’

Whilst Jamie had to remain patient, he wanted to pursue a meaningful career path if professional rugby was not a possibility. Having worked in an abattoir during his time at Stirling County, Jamie wanted to pursue a slightly different career: the police.

‘I wanted to explore other opportunities and tried to get in the police. I applied to the police. I actually failed not once, but twice.

‘The first time I did the application and sent it away. I was rejected. I applied the following year. This is when I was at Melrose as well.

‘The second time round, I got invited for fitness testing and the written test. I did the written test and passed that. On the day, if you pass the written test, you get to sit the fitness test straight away. It was at the Police College in Edinburgh. The fitness test was a mile and a half run round Inverleith Park. It was two loops of the park. I thought, “I play club rugby, so I’ll be alright”.

‘The police guy came in saying, “Everyone should already know what kind of pacing you need for this run as I’m sure you’ve been practicing for”. I’m like sitting there, like “Pacing? What’s pacing it?” I thought I could run that distance in 12 and a half minutes or so.

‘I took off but on the second lap, I found it tough. I was shattered running a mile and a half. But I got to the end and thought, “I’ve done it. I passed the past the fitness test.”

‘After passing the fitness test, you get invited back for an interview. I knew a couple of guys from County who were policemen in Falkirk and spoke to them on social media. I asked if they’d catch up with me about the police and offer me any help. And two of them were quite high up. I chatted with them, and they give me a bit insight into the interviews and stuff like that.

‘A family friend was in the police too. They said, “This is what they look for these interview techniques”. For example, if they ask you a question, answer using a situation. Talk about the task you’ve performed, the actions you took and what the result was. The main question is usually, “Why did you want to join the police?”

‘I absolutely botched that interview.

‘In my interview I sat down and the interviewer as me, “Oh, you play rugby? We like rugby players”.

‘I thought, “I’ve nailed it”.

‘The interviewer then asked me, “Jamie, why do you want to join the police?”.

‘I went…

‘I couldn’t speak! I had no clue what to say. After that, the interview got worse. I knew I’d screwed that up. I knew I’d botched my chances.

‘A few months later, I got my I got offered stage three contract at Glasgow, under Gregor Townsend and Dan McFarland. The rest is history.’

Jamie secured his EDP contract at Glasgow under Townsend’s leadership. Whilst a career in the police may not have proved fruitful for Jamie, it took him down the path he wanted to take most: a professional career in rugby.

‘I think everything happens for a reason.

‘Say I did do well in that interview and progressed to the police, I would have walked away from rugby as I would’ve wanted a career as a policeman. I might’ve left Melrose and just played socially.

‘Rugby was important to me and John Dalziel was trying to push me as much as I could to get a pro deal or an opportunity at one of the teams. But I was in a mindset of, “If this doesn’t happen, I need to make something happen for myself”.

‘I think life would have been very different, but I think things happen for a reason.’

One door of opportunity may have closed for Jamie regarding a police career, but the door to his rugby career pulled wide open.

Jamie has always been a player that has got stuck in with whatever environment he’s in. Even when club rugby was predominantly made up of players from Edinburgh and the borders of Scotland, Jamie threw himself into the hard work that was demanded of him at Glasgow.

‘Because of the type of person I am, I give it my all wherever I go. I chip in and do the best I could. I think most people I’ve played with respected that and took care of me because of it.’

Throughout his career, Jamie credits the guidance of his coaches for supporting his growth into the accomplished prop he is today. However, it is John Dalziel he attributes his success to most.

‘John Dalziel: I would do anything for the guy, because of the opportunity he gave me at Melrose. He helped me get that foot on the ladder in professional rugby and when it came to Scotland.

‘I’ve always said that I wouldn’t be where I am in life, in my career, without John’s help. I’ve always said that, and I’ll take it to my grave. Maybe I wouldn’t be a professional sportsperson without John or ever had the opportunity in professional sport or doing what I do now if it wasn’t for his backing and support in my early days at Melrose.’

Jamie also credits the wider coaching staff during his time spent at Melrose.

‘Mike Dalgetti and Rob Christie, who were all there at Melrose, backed me like when I went down and played me. They backed me when I got a new club. Melrose at the time were the top team in Scotland and had played in the premiership for years. For me to go as an outsider to a borders team and from County as well, and for them to back me and play me, I gave a lot back. I worked hard for the club, played every week, every game I could have played for them. But for them to support me the way they did and push me, I’ll always be grateful for that.’

Jamie is one of the more senior players in the Glasgow Warriors squad. However, he’s noted that as he’s got older, he’s felt like he can share his personality more with his coaches.

‘I wouldn’t say there’s a fine line between having a more personal relationship with a coach and their technical ability. I think as you get older, it’s easier to be a person with a coach. As a younger player, you’re usually quite reserved; you don’t have as much of a connection.

‘I feel like now, I can go and speak to Franco if there’s something wrong. He’s very open with me as well. He gives me feedback and tells me what I can be better at, because I always get stuff wrong. I’m nowhere near perfect. I make mistakes like anyone does, and he’s very honest, and he tells me that.

‘We’ve got a really good relationship that if I feel I don’t agree with something, I can go and speak to him about it. We have done in the past. I think we have a good relationship. I try and do my absolute best for him when I’m on the pitch.’

Outside of work, Jamie spends time with his wife and dog.

‘The missus, my wife, she’s always got my back. If something’s not gone my way, it’s best for me to come home. I try not to moan about rugby when mistakes happen and when we have a tough training day. She’s a massive supporter of my rugby.

‘Spending time with my dog and my wife is important to me. My dog’s called Ox – he’s a black labrador.

‘My father-in-law was also a massive supporter of me and Glasgow Warriors. He volunteered at Stirling County for years. I actually knew him before I knew Sophie!

‘He passed away the week we played Munster in the semi-final. He had a cardiac arrest on the day we played Munster. That was tricky to deal with. He was a big help on and off the field for me. He came to every Scotland game and the World Cup. He was a special part of my journey.

‘It would’ve been massive for him to see us win the URC. He would’ve loved it.

‘My wife, fiancé at the time, couldn’t make it over to South Africa for the final because she was dealing with all the family arrangements. But we made sure that my Glasgow match-winning jersey was in his casket.

‘I think doing that meant a lot to her. It meant a lot to me. I wanted to give him my medal. But my wife insisted that I keep my medal.

‘He saw the 2014/15 Glasgow win against Munster in the Pro12. At that point, he was a generic rugby fan. He’d watch random Edinburgh games. But he always followed and supported my career. It meant a lot to me to give him that jersey.’

Jamie poignantly expressed how much winning the United Rugby Championship meant to him, especially after the passing of his father-in-law.

‘It was special. It was class. Nobody backed us to win that. Nobody. We were written off, obviously, we seen the video that we put up here, all the clips, all the media, all the journalists saying like that, we had no chance to win it. Even on ourselves, we were tough. After coming back from the South Africa tour in May, we had a meeting and stuff between the players. We said, “we need to take a step forward here”.’

Jamie experienced a different team-wide mindset shift to the previous season. He credits this as one of the main factors Glasgow was able to make Scottish sporting history.

‘It’s a mentality that can’t be explained because you’ve seen it yourself.

‘A lot of it is how we train. We do a short preseason, but some of the stuff is crazy. Like in a game, you’ll never experience anything like some of the things Franco has made us do in preseason. We do a full session, contact, conditioning, fitness, running it at the back end, like boys going on a Bronco. But we just get the head down and get through it, no matter how fit or unfit you are. We all just chew through it. I think that showed in our Stormers quarterfinal game which was drawn until 55 minutes or something. But we stayed in the game, and we won. Other teams will just die off. If somebody missed a tackle, somebody’s there to clean up, or somebody makes a mistake, or whatever. Like we were all just in it together and were digging in and once again.

‘As well at Munster in the semifinal, we were 13 men for 20 minutes in the first half. At halftime, I’m walking into the changing room and I was laughing. I mean, Munster had 15 men, and we had 13 for 20. Munster couldn’t score. At that point, I knew the Munster boys were done.

‘Even that Bulls game as well. We were all there digging in. I guess what we put in there on the pitch doesn’t look a lot. When you go through it, it is horrible, but it pays dividends. The first couple of years, we were building: first year, last year.

‘We got it right in the URC Final. We just need to keep building.’

Prior to the final, players who had played in a Glasgow jersey in the past sent in their messages of good luck to the squad. Cole Forbes told the boys that the final was their time to shine and to remember all the washing machines Franco put the team through.

‘We did a washing machine into a Bronco clean off at the end of preseason. The washing machine is a bag, 12 bags or 10, whatever minute Franco picks. You start next to all the other boys, and everyone’s in a line between the first guy. You do a down-up on the five-metre line, back to the try line, hit the bag, down, up, hit the bag again. Move on to the next bag, down, up, back. And you were right along the line and you’re onto the 50 and back. So that’s a washing machine.

‘We finished the washing machine and went straight into a Bronco after that. This was also after a full session of contact and conditioning.

‘We knew it was coming. It’s always coming into preseason at some point, but I’m saying we do, and we get through it, and it shows back in the season, when games get tough, we dig in and we come out the other side, better for it.’

The washing machine routine and number of broncos is indicative of Jamie’s—and the wider squad’s—dedication to perseverance under Franco Smith’s leadership.

‘Franco makes the club a better place. We knew if we got things right, nothing was going to affect us.’

Part of the mentality that led to the Championship title was taking each game, each training session for face value.

‘Franco and all the squad live by it as well. We take each week, week to week, week to week, and we just focus on that week. We don’t look too far outside what’s going on at Scotstoun. ‘As a group, we are not distracted by too much. We’re all very much aligned and like and we take care of stuff.’

With over 100 caps for the club, Jamie has strong ambitions for Glasgow.

‘I’d like to do back-to-back titles in the URC. That would be a good one. It’s definitely achievable; we’ve shown that we can definitely do it again.

‘I’d love to see us win the Champions Cup, but that’s a huge challenge. We are capable of it. I believe we can do well in the pool we’ve got this year as well. There are obviously really good teams in France especially like Bordeaux and Toulouse, so it’s a great competition to be apart of.

‘I would like to make a playoff spot in Europe, whether it be quarter, semis and even a final May. It would be special. We’ve got to the EPCR final, but a Champions Cup final would be historical. Getting that far, even semi, we’ve not been a semi-final for Europe as well. Champions to create a bit of history would be.

‘The way rugby is now, one day you get it right, and they’re 1% off. I take one game at a time, focus on one game a time. I think we can definitely bring that mentality across both competitions and do well in both competitions.

‘From a national team point of view, I’d like to play for Scotland again. The last time I played for Scotland was the World Cup.

‘I just need to hit my form in the club season so when it comes to international fixtures, I’m in the mix for selection.’

Wombats can’t fly but Jamie Bhatti has been learning to become a pilot. He recently achieved his Private Pilot License (PPL) after beginning learning to fly over two years ago.

‘About two years ago, I was thinking about what I could get into to have something for after my rugby career. I saw something on Instagram about flying so I thought I’d try that.

‘I did my first flying lesson as a gift for my 30^th birthday. I did the trial lesson and came out of thinking, “This is cool”. I had to turn left, right, go forward and back in the plane. I got into it from there.’

‘For the first few months, I did lessons week-to-week. I got really into it. I thought that I would properly put my energy into it. I sat the exams: there’s nine exams in the PPL. I got through the exams one by one. I finished my last one earlier this year.

‘There were nine different subjects: air law, communication, meteorology, human reaction, performance and planning, navigation, principles of flight, aircraft air knowledge. To get issued your PPL, you have to have passed these exams. You also need a minimum of 45 hours of flying to get a PPL. 35 hours of solo flying as well. After that you sit a skills test. I’ve done all that and now I have my PPL.

‘There’s a lot to add to the initial PPL license to be able to be eligible to apply for commercial airline jobs.

‘There are other things like jet orientation courses and doing stuff with two-engine planes.

‘I genuinely want to go into this as a post-rugby career. I still have a long way to go. There’s also an air transport license that allows you to fly people, cargo, things like that. I still need to get that. There’s lots of part to that, another thirteen exams. Those are broader than the ones I’ve sat. They’re about Level 5 learning, so equivalent to a second or third year in an undergraduate degree.

‘I just want to continue working towards it when I can and see what happens and see if I can make a plan with it.’

Jamie’s realistic but optimistic attitude throughout his professional career has served him and his teammates well.

Jamie’s Warrior Roots reflects the open-mindedness of trying something new and seeing what happens, where it might take you. That attitude helped him become and Glasgow Warriors centurion and represent the country he loves in the sport he loves.