'Pretty gutting' - but Glasgow Warriors player who missed out on URC final is not laced with regrets

The 26-year-old was at Loftus Versfeld for the final but was not in the squad to face the Bulls as Franco Smith stuck with the back three of Josh McKay, Kyle Steyn and Sebastian Cancelliere that had helped propel Glasgow through the quarter and semi-finals.

Rowe admits it was “gutting” to miss out but he more than played his part over the course of a URC campaign in which he scored nine tries in 13 matches. He was a more than worthy recipient of a winner’s medal and his achievement felt all the sweeter given the obstacles placed in front of him earlier in his career.

His journey into professional rugby was anything but straightforward and Rowe had a spell working night shift in an Amazon warehouse when his Scotland Sevens contract was mothballed during Covid. The winger’s career clicked with a move to London Irish and ten tries for the exiles club in 2021-22 saw him called up by Scotland for their summer tour to South America. It was then that Rowe had to show even more fortitude. He ruptured his knee ligaments after coming on for his international debut against Argentina then saw London Irish go to the wall as he worked his way back from injury.

Rowe kept believing and Glasgow stepped in to sign him and it’s little wonder he can apply perspective when looking back on his campaign with the Warriors.

“I was very delighted with my first season,” he said. “I’m still gutted with what happened at London Irish because it wasn’t a nice thing but to come back to Glasgow and win the URC in my first season just provides more inspiration.”

Missing the final stung a little but Rowe was able to see the bigger picture.

“There were regrets at not being involved but it’s not through anything that I did,” he said. “Franco had decided that he wanted to go with Steyno, Seb and Josh. Once we won the Stormers game, I had a feeling that he wasn’t going to change the team and keep it for the semi-final and final. It was pretty gutting not to be involved but I don’t think it was through anything that I had done. I was still a pretty integral part to the season so there weren't too many regrets.”

Rowe has also returned to the international fold, playing in four of Scotland’s Six Nations matches this year and scoring his first Test tries on the summer tour, bagging a double against Chile.

“It was very memorable,” he said of the game in Santiago. “The next thing for me is to do that at Murrayfield because that would be a pretty big moment for myself considering everything that I’ve been through. I wouldn’t say it was a relief or anything like that but it was good because I know that I’ve come a long way and not many people can say they’ve done what I’ve done - it made the moment even sweeter. The main thing for me was taking the form from the summer with Scotland back to Glasgow and building on it.

“One of my aims for the start of the season is to get into the Autumn nations squad. I want to play as many games as I can for Scotland.”