Rowlands: I always felt Welsh bond
WILL Rowlands revealed he has always felt ‘very connected’ to Welsh rugby and also explained how he broke the news of his shock international call-up to family members.
The Wasps lock’s inclusion in new Wales head coach Wayne Pivac’s first squad for the Six Nations was a big surprise, given the 28-year-old’s largely unknown connections to the country having been born and raised in London.
Following his return from a knee injury during his club’s 27-0 home European Challenge Cup defeat to Bordeaux Begles on Saturday, Rowlands explained his Welsh connection stems from his father Jeremy, who was born in Pontllanfraith, near to Newport.
In the post-match press conference he also explained his reaction to the news and how he was told.
“I was pretty over the moon, it’s a really exciting opportunity. I’m really looking forward to going into the environment and giving it my best.
“Officially you get an email about 15 minutes before so I was actually sat in the Nuffield Cafe with Tommy Taylor and Rob Miller at the time, it was a bit of a surprise.
“My dad’s Welsh, really Welsh. He was born, lived 18 years with my Welsh grandparents, lived there for a long time so actually I feel like I’ve got a real affinity to Welsh rugby like growing up we used to support Wales in the house, my dad’s quite a passionate Welshman, my Welsh nanna and grandpa even more so, so I feel very connected to Welsh rugby even though I don’t have a Welsh accent or have spent much time there myself.
“My family were pretty excited, I think most so my Welsh nanna who’s actually in a care home at the moment so it’s nice to be able to get that news passed on to her.
“I told my dad over the phone.
“He’s quite a cool customer so he played it quite cool, initially, more of the excitement came from my Welsh nanna.”
On his chances of making the Wales team he said: “There’s some quality second row guys who’ve been in the system so I’m just focused on getting in there, learning what I can from them and helpiing the squad out and obviously if I get picked to play fantastic but yeah as I said it’s a competitive squad.”