Rowan relishing chance to realise potential
JACOB Rowan says he owes departed head coach Laurie Fisher a debt of gratitude after ousting Matt Kvesic from Gloucester’s No.7 jersey.
Rowan’s career had been on a slow burn since he arrived from Leeds in 2014, but the former England U20s captain has finally achieved his breakthrough as the club step up their hunt for a spot in next season’s Champions Cup.
Now 27, Rowan is showing his full potential having skippered an all-star U20s squad in 2010 that contained Freddie Burns, Jamie George, Joe Marler, Jonny May and Tom Homer.
Rowan said: “We’ve been through a few tough times with our head coach leaving, but it’s been a good season for me personally and Laurie’s been a massive influence in terms of the breakdown and workrate aspects.
“There’s massive back row competition here and when you look at the breakdown stats of someone like Matt Kvesic, they’re hugely impressive. To get in ahead of him has been fantastic but I have to keep producing to keep the shirt.”
Rowan made 25 tackles against Bristol last week, with improved fitness key to his turnaround.
He explained: “Dan Tobin arrived as our new conditioner last year and you either work at high intensity or not at all. There are no grey areas and when we’re flat out we have to go for it.
“Our GPS stats are up across the board and I’ve been working hard on that.”
Gloucester lie seven points behind sixth-placed Harlequins but Rowan says Champions Cup qualification remains viable.
He added: “It’s tight in the middle and we’ve still got to play teams around us. We’ve failed to make the Champions Cup in the last couple of years so it’s a massive target now and the least we’d like to achieve is seventh and a play-off.”