From a forgotten man and out of contract at Glasgow Warriors with nowhere to go, to being a regular stand-in captain as the club battled for silverware on two fronts and now the precipice of his senior international debut – it has been a whirlwind 15 months for Stafford McDowall.
At 6ft 4ins and 16½ stone, with soft hands an educated kicking game, the Dumfries native has always had the makings of a fine pro player and genuine international contender.
And the first three seasons of his senior career certainly followed a promising trajectory. He made his Warriors debut aged 19 in 2017, captained the Scotland Under-20s at the 2018 Junior World Championship in France, was then named Warriors young player of the year at the end of the 2018-19 season, and called up to that year’s Six Nations training squad.
It seemed at this stage more like a case of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ full honours would come the big centre’s way, but then things plateaued, as a precursor to falling away dramatically when Danny Wilson took over as his club coach.
During two seasons under the Englishman (2020-21 and 2021-22), McDowall managed just eight starts and nine bench appearances, and he has since admitted that his confidence nose-dived. So much so that he was beginning to reconcile himself with the idea last summer that he might have to move back to the family farm in Dumfries and give up on the dream of reaching the pinnacle in his chosen sport.
Fortunately for McDowall, and for Warriors, Alastair Kellock, the club’s managing director, belatedly offered him a 12-month contract extension in March 2022, and when Franco Smith replaced the sacked Wilson that summer, things really started to shift in the player’s favour.
“I think I owe Franco quite a lot,” acknowledged the now 25-year-old on Wednesday, speaking just after it was announced that he will make his senior international debut in Scotland first (of four) World Cup warm-up matches against Italy at Murrayfield tomorrow afternoon.
“I would have been an unknown to him coming in because I hadn’t played a lot in the previous two years, so for him to chuck me in early in the season and give me a chance that I managed to take, then stick with me throughout the season and keep giving me chances, is something I will forever be grateful for.
“The same goes for the other coaches at Glasgow. Nigel Carolan, Pete Murchie and especially Pete Horne, who is someone I know as a friend having played with him and he was able to give me honest feedback as a 12 so I have learned a lot from him.
“I think my footwork and ball carrying has improved quite a lot this season, that is something I’ve worked on a lot with Pete” he added. “And dropping your body height then bursting through tackles as well, that was probably something I wasn’t doing as effectively before.
“I think just having that confidence back brings out those skills that I maybe underused previously and helps me spot opportunities on the pitch. For example, my kicking game is not something I have gone to that often in the past and feel I have done that well for Glasgow this year.”
Competing against Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones – two of Scotland’s stand-out performers during the Six Nations – McDowall established himself as a key figure for Warriors during their run to the URC play-offs and European Challenge Cup final. He deputised for Kyle Steyn as captain of the side on a number of occasions and earned himself a two-year contract extension.
Now his sights are trained on making up for lost time on the international front.
“It’s obviously something I’ve been dreaming about my whole life and maybe at times it has seemed a bit out of touch, but now that it is actually happening it is pretty exciting and I can’t wait,” he said.
“I think you’ve got to look at every game like it’s you one and only chance, especially in a World Cup year, so you’ve got to go out and take it with both hands.”
McDowall is set to become only the third player to be capped out of Stewartry rugby club in Castle Douglas, following in the footsteps of fellow centre Joe Ansbro in 2010 and second-row Alex Craig (with whom he was in the same midis team) in 2021. A sizable fan club will make the trip cross country to the national stadium for the occasion.
“A lot of my family are coming up and I managed to get their tickets sorted out on Tuesday, then a lot of friends have messaged me since the team came out to say that they’ll be there,” he revealed.
“There was a point originally when my dad was sending me a list of ticket requirements and I was thinking: ‘Jeez-o, I don’t know about that!’. But thankfully I got it sorted. I’ve got 11 tickets and most boys say that’s about average for a first cap at home.
“My dad coached me from a young age coming through at Stewartry, so it is a massive moment for him as well – almost as big for him as it is for me. I’m really proud that I can do it for him.”
