Four years ago in Turin they suffered the extreme frustration of seeing their hopes of reaching the Olympic final, and then their hopes of winning the bronze-medal match, disappear with the last shot of the game.

Fourth place was no disgrace, but the manner of those two defeats left bitter memories.

Ewan MacDonald, whose wife Fiona was one of the Fab Four who took Olympic gold at the 2002 Salt Lake Games, also experienced that frustration, although for him it was a broadly more encouraging Olympic campaign than he had undergone four years earlier when Britain’s men had travelled to Salt Lake with high ambition, only to finish joint seventh out of 10.

Victory at the 1999 World Championships under the direction of Hammy Macmillan had offered evidence that they were capable of producing curling of the highest quality, and it was the men’s team, rather than the team skipped by Rhona Martin, of whom most was expected before the Games started.

Three defeats dramatically lowered the men’s expectations, and although Macmillan voluntarily stood down as skip, switching places with Warwick Smith, the rest of the campaign saw them lose three more matches.

Sadly, by the time the main body of British supporters arrived in Salt Lake for the final stages of the competition, the men's chances had already vanished.

Eight years on, the British men are hoping it will be third time lucky.

"I can’t wait for the Olympics to start," says Murdoch. "It's the pinnacle of our sport, the competition that everybody wants to be involved in. The Games in Turin ended in such a frustrating way, when we missed out on a medal by the narrowest of margins, and I'm very keen to have another opportunity to compete for an Olympic medal with Team GB.

"We go as world champions, but we know the competition will be very tough, particularly from the host nation. Curling is hugely popular in Canada, so we know there will be a lot of interest in our event."



Murdoch believes that his team’s world title win could be a crucial marker.

"Canada had an extremely strong team that hadn't been beaten in championship play for about two years, so to beat them on their home rink in the World Championships was a really good achievement for us," he says. "If we can carry that form to Vancouver we will have a good chance.

"Canada are the team to beat because they are on their home territory and it's a huge sport over there. They have something like a million people who regularly take part, so it is going to be extra special to have these Olympics in Vancouver.

"The home team are going to have 6,000 people in the arena cheering them on. But that could also increase the pressure on them, and if we can sneak under the radar we could snatch it."

Murdoch, who shares the driving with Byers to their training venue at Perth - "so one of us gets a sleep on the journey every second day" - believes the potential is there for British TV viewers to become as fascinated by the Olympic campaign as they were when Martin and Co won their landmark victory in 2002.

"We can stir up interest back home," he says. "When Rhona’s team won, curling got higher viewing figures than Wimbledon on the BBC. People get intrigued by the strategy. You can sit at home and you can see the whole game developing."

And Murdoch believes those following this year's competition could witness a more fascinating prospect than ever before due to the fact that the man who will be in overall charge of the ice conditions in Vancouver is the hugely respected Hans Wuthrich, who has a history of producing conditions which favour the subtleties of the sport.

"We are world champions, which gives us a lot of confidence. But in curling a lot comes down to the ice conditions. And those conditions can change every minute of the game. It looks so easy - but each bit of ice is so different. For instance when 6,000 people come into an arena the whole place warms up, so sometimes you have to use different water to keep the pebble hard.

"Ice sheets can vary just like greens can vary in gold. Some greens, like the ones at Augusta, are very fast. At the last Olympic Games the ice tended to be a bit straight, which encourages a skittles-type curling.

"But ice made by Hans encourages a lot of swing, which needs different skills. You will see the stones curling up to five feet round the guards. It’s going to be fantastic for the viewing public."

Murdoch readily concedes, however, that having more options on the ice will increase the requirement on the person calling – or making - the shots. The skip.

"There is a lot of pressure on the skip when there are so many tactical possibilities," he says.

But pressure simply goes with the territory in this sport. For example, the glorious final flourish produced by Martin to secure Olympic gold at the Ogden Ice Sheet - dismissed by Martin herself as a routine shot - was hardly that simple.

"That was a tough shot to make,” says Murdoch with a grin. “Firstly because it was to win the Olympic Games. And secondly, though it may have looked easy, she wouldn’t have made the shot if she hadn't judged it to a matter of millimetres."

By such minuscule margins, as Murdoch knows only too well, can Olympic campaigns stand or fall. But he is calmly confident about his team’s prospects in Canada.

"We've played together a long time and we’ve had experience of Olympics and world and European championships," he says. "I think that kind of experience is invaluable."

MacDonald (pictured here with wife Fiona in Salt Lake City) is in complete agreement.

"We have learned from our experience in Turin," he says. "On that occasion our game just didn't come together. It didn’t happen for us. But we came so close.

"This time round our team has been together for quite a number of years, which was not always the case in the past. We have a more intense training programme, and I think it’s a more settled team. We all get on very well on and off the ice.

"With the team that went to Salt Lake, although we had won the world title in 1999, the lead-up to the Olympics hadn't been as consistent as it should have been. But I definitely think we have shown consistency in the last four years."

Time - and the ice sheet - will tell. But these might yet be the Games where Britain’s male curlers outshine their female counterparts…

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, has covered the last five Summer and four Winter Olympics for The Independent. Previously he has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, the Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian. He is now chief feature writer for insidethegames.