FORMER Heriot's skipper Jamie Syme believes experience he gained during a sojourn Down Under can help the Goldenacre club build on a recent upturn in their form and extend their three-match winning run.
The 27-year-old, who returned to the club this year after three years in Australia, is thriving on the open style of rugby that has taken Heriot's to second place in the Scottish Hydro Electric Championship.
Having played at a high level during hi
s time away, he has returned with greater knowledge of the game which he hopes to impart on colleagues who go into Saturday's league clash against Currie at Malleny Park with their confidence high.
"I was playing at New South Wales Country. We used to play Warratah's back-up squads and some development squads, so it was a good level," he explained. "They were hard boys, the skill levels were high and the pitches were hard so it was good for running rugby."
Since returning, Syme, who also played for Kirkcaldy earlier in his career, has slotted back into the Heriot's pack, filling the No.8 role, and found his way on to the score sheet in the win over Stirling County earlier in the season. With several teenagers holding down a place in the side, Syme regards himself as one of the old heads in the Goldenacre squad and believes he can help those around him to progress and enjoy their rugby.
"Obviously I now have a lot more experience. It's a different way they play their rugby," he said, reflecting on his Australian experience, which also involved working on farms. "They try to run it a lot and they've been playing the new rules for the last two years. It's a lot more enjoyable than being stuck in rucks.
"So, hopefully I've brought back that bit of experience. I hope I also bring a bit of fun to the club, get the boys together and make sure we all have a laugh."
Syme, who returned to Scotland in July and is now working in sports massage, is impressed by the set up he has returned to, in terms of the quality of players in the side, the depth of emerging talent and the high standard of coaching.
"There is a lot of potential," he added. "We've got boys like Struan Dewar and Chris Fusaro (pictured below, right) who are 18 or 19 years old and they are good enough to be in there, so fair play to them.
"They have been given the chance and they have grasped it with both hands and are playing really well. That's good to see."
He believes the positive story extends beyond what is happening in the top side.
"I see it in the second XV as well," he said. "We train together and, when it's ones against twos, there is a lot of competition. That helps to bring all the players on.
"Obviously we have the coaching staff – George Breckenridge, Bob McKillop and we've got Roddy Deans and John Houston as well. Then you have experienced guys like Jim Thompson and Marc Teague coming down, so it's absolutely fantastic."
Heriot's showed mixed form in the early part of the season, but successive wins over Selkirk, Boroughmuir and Edinburgh Accies have seen McKillop's men move into second place in the league table.
Although no one at the Goldenacre club is talking up their title prospects, Syme senses that there has been a change of mindset.
"I think we have turned the corner," he said. "We are back to believing in each other and trusting each other and it's showing on the field. Hopefully we are heading in the right direction."
However, Syme has been back at the club long enough to know that the coaching team will not allow the players to look beyond the next game.
He recalls many hard matches against Currie during his previous spell at Heriot's and he expects nothing less than another tough encounter on Saturday.
"It is a very competitive league," he said. "We've got another hard game coming up and I'm sure it will be another battle.
"They always had a big pack and we had some great games against them. I'm looking forward to another good week in training and then a hard match."
Syme has returned from Australia having clearly been influenced by the relaxed lifestyle he enjoyed Down Under. His preparations for Saturday's match with Accies included several hours fishing on the River Earn.
However, while he believes his trip gave him a unique opportunity, both in rugby terms and in lifestyle, he is clearly relishing being back on his old hunting ground.
He said: "I was away for three years and it's great to be back."
