He’s the man! (From Swindon Advertiser)

He’s the man!

9:00am Friday 13th June 2008 in Sport By Gareth Moorhouse

MANUEL Hauzinger became the new darling of Blunsdon last night with a stunning eight-point debut to send Swindon Robins soaring back to the top of the Sky Sports Elite League.

The five-times Austrian champion enjoyed a dream start to his Elite League career, gaining two heat wins - including a victory over British champion Scott Nicholls - as Swindon crushed Eastbourne Eagles 53-39.

Replacing axed reserve Theo Pijper, Hauzinger immediately repaid Swindon's faith in him with a series of swashbuckling rides, much to the delight of his new manager Alun Rossiter.

Rosco said: "I was looking for four or five points from Manuel tonight so for him to get eight was absolutely brilliant.

"He had a heat win over Scott Nicholls, who is certainly no slouch around here, and his gating was superb.

"Even when he didn't make the starts, he hung on in there for some points, and that's exactly what you want from a reserve.

"I couldn't have asked for anything more from him really. It was a great debut."

Rosco admitted he was " feeling worried" prior to the meeting about the threat posed by a resurgent Eastbourne, but the margin of victory was an emphatic one.

"As I said earlier in the week, you just never know which Eastbourne will turn up," he said.

"We have to keep winning at home, and a big victory like this is a huge boost.

"If we could only sneak another couple of wins on the road we would be in even better shape than we are."