The Six Nations are edging closer and Glasgow Warriors coach Nigel Carolan has tipped ‘silent assassin’ Kyle Rowe to force his way into Gregor Townsend’s plans.
The 25-year-old penned a two-year deal with Glasgow in the summer after escaping London Irish amid the threat of administration at the English side. Rowe has been part of the Scotland set-up before, but only once after his debut against Argentina in 2022 turned into a nightmare.
The winger sustained a serious knee injury that kept him sidelined for a year amid the financial uncertainty at London Irish but Glasgow provided the platform to showcase his unquestionable talent.
Rowe repaid Franco Smith’s faith immediately, scoring against Connacht on debut and he excelled against Ulster on Friday night to leave Carolan singing his praises.
“Kyle Rowe has been a revelation for us since he came in,” Carolan declared. “He’s such a cool head with a quiet demeanour. He’s like a silent assassin. He goes about his business, he’s good under the high ball, he’s a finisher, his work rate is phenomenal and he’s got footwork and passing. He’s been a really good acquisition for us this season.
“At the moment it’s working to Glasgow’s benefit and I can’t see how or why he couldn’t be involved with Scotland either in the Six Nations. He’s such a good pro, an international-quality winger. And I think he’s only going to get better.”
Rowe was one of four try scorers as Glasgow secured a bonus point against Ulster to move top of the URC table as Johnny Matthews grabbed the headlines once again. The hooker scored twice to extend his prolific record to seven tries in six games to move into Glasgow’s top five all-time try scorers.
“Who doesn’t want a Johnny Matthews in their team?! He’s a try-scoring machine,” Carolan confessed. “And not just off the back of the maul. The other day it was off the back of a piece of team flow but he still had work to do as he was being hounded down in that 5-metre channel and finished brilliantly.
“His second try wasn’t just off the maul either, it was a rumble in from a few metres out. He was composed and showed many ways to get over the line. It’s not by luck. Johnny is a good pro and trains hard. He brings the best out in others as well. He finished off a good team try and posted a contender for try of the season.”
It’s been a hugely encouraging start to the season for Glasgow and their resilience shone through as they produced a stunning comeback against Ulster.
The Northern Irish side dominated as they raced to a 14-point lead after just 12 minutes but Glasgow overturned the deficit and they were outstanding in the second half.
Carloan, however, isn’t getting carried away: “We’re top of the table so we’re pleased with that. And when you come in on a Monday it’s always nice to do so with five points in the bag from the weekend. But you can’t just sit back and say “well done”.
“We commend the lads and acknowledge the wins but we more highlight the opportunities missed and how we can continue to grow and get better. We’re only six games in but we’ve already used more than 40 players so that cohesion element is still a big thing.
“Against Ulster, it was maybe the first time from an attack perspective that we’ve seen a little bit more of our flow. We strung more phases together and asked more questions. That’s pleasing. It’s starting to build but we’re not there yet.”
Glasgow face arguably the toughest test in the URC on Friday when they travel to Cork to face reigning URC champions Munster. The Warriors recorded a famous win in Ireland last season before suffering heartbreak as they lost out against the eventual winners in the quarter-finals at Scotstoun.
“Going away to Munster was a tough assignment last year as well but we went with the right mindset and the right gameplan. Things worked for us on the day. It was a mixed bag as a team but we all bought into it.
“When you go out on the road it needs to be cut-throat with everyone aligned. Last year we had a really good win there but couldn’t then back it up in the quarter-final here. It will be tough over there but we’re building as a team. If we can raise it another few notches then we can ask the right questions of them again.
On the game being played at Musgrove Park, rather than Thomond Park, Carolom added: It will be a smaller crowd and more intimate. A lot like Scotstoun actually. If anything it will help us as it’s 4G, smaller and will feel a lot more homely than Thomond Park.”
