Glasgow Warriors' new star almost made debut against them - 'would have been a weird one'

It has been a momentous few days for the 20-year-old local lad who made his senior debut for Glasgow in Saturday’s impressive victory over Leinster before clinching the two-year deal.

Ventisei partnered Stafford McDowall in the centre and found himself up against All Blacks great Rieko Ioane and Lions Test player Robbie Henshaw.

The Warriors won 38-17 to strengthen their position at the top of the United Rugby Championship and Ventisei has his fingers crossed he will be involved again this Friday when Benetton come to Scotstoun.

Almost made debut against Glasgow!

But it could have been an altogether different debut for Ventisei who was loaned out to Edinburgh near the end of last year and came close to playing against Glasgow in the 1872 Cup.

“I think they had quite a few injuries in the centre department so I just got sent over there to cover that, with maybe an opportunity to play,” he explained. “It didn't end up like that but that was the plan.

“It would have been a weird one if I was to make my pro debut against the club I was actually at. I mean, I've grown up supporting Warriors, and always wanted to play for Glasgow so when I came back, it gave me a bit of a boost that I needed.”

While Glasgow are flying high, Edinburgh have been struggling in the bottom half of the URC but Ventisei was grateful to have the opportunity to work with the capital club.

“There are some differences, I guess,” he said. “Here, we're lucky that we win quite a lot and the atmosphere around the boys is a bit more upbeat, whereas there… it's tricky. I mean, they go through good patches, and then some which are more tough. So I guess it's different. But both are good environments to be a part of.”

Ventisei, who was born and raised in Glasgow, has followed the Warriors since he was a kid.

Followed Warriors at Firhill

“I started off playing at GHA when I was five years old, from primary one all the way up to under-16s and then played for the seniors as well,” he said. “And I’ve been coming to watch Warriors with my dad for all my life from when they were playing at Firhill. We’ve followed them to Ireland to watch them play against Leinster and others. So it is a real dream come true that I was able to pull the shirt on on Saturday.”

Franco Smith, the Glasgow head coach, told Ventisei at the start of the week that he would be playing and it’s fair to say the decision caught the youngster off guard.

“When he told me on the Monday morning, I was shocked, I couldn't actually believe it. I've always wanted to play for this club, and then especially the fact that it was such a big game against Leinster, who have been dominant in this competition for years. I was over the moon. And then when their squad got announced the day before, and I saw Robbie Henshaw and Rieko Ioane in the centres against me, I was like, ‘oh my goodness’.”

Ventisei, who also played through the age groups at St Aloysius’ College, has been learning from the very best at Glasgow where Sione Tuipulotu, Huw Jones and McDowall are all vying for the centre berths.

“These guys are all world-class players,” said the former Scotland Under-20 captain. “The leadership from them on and off the field is brilliant. And just being able to observe them and learn from them on the pitch has been great I'm lucky that I've got these guys to kind of look up to.”