Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Stafford McDowall shocked to be leading Scotland against Canada

By PA
Glasgow Warriors' Stafford McDowall celebrates after scoring the opening try during the ECPR European Challenge Cup semi-final match at the Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli. Picture date: Saturday April 29, 2023. (Photo by Nigel French/PA Images via Getty Images)

Stafford McDowall revealed his shock at being told he would be Scotland co-captain for the first time in the summer tour opener against Canada on Saturday.

ADVERTISEMENT

The 26-year-old Glasgow Warriors centre was asked by Gregor Townsend to lead the side along with Edinburgh flanker Luke Crosbie for the game at TD Place Stadium, Ottawa, where five players will make their debuts with five other uncapped players on the bench.

It will be only a third Scotland appearance for McDowall, who won his first cap in a World Cup warm-up game against Italy in 2023 before making his Six Nations debut against Ireland in Dublin earlier in the year.

Video Spacer

Boks Office on the “hatred” between South Africa and Ireland | RPTV

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 4:02
Loaded: 0%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 4:02
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • captions off, selected
    • en (Main), selected
    Video Spacer

    Boks Office on the “hatred” between South Africa and Ireland | RPTV

    Hanyani Shimange, Schalk Burger and former Ireland player CJ Stander discuss the perceived hatred between South Africa and Ireland, ahead of the first Test. Full episode coming soon to RugbyPass TV

    Coming soon

    He said: “Gregor told me when we first came into camp last week, he told me and Luke together that we’d be co-captains, so it was bit of a shock.

    “I was a bit overwhelmed and was straight on to the phone to my dad and told him and he’s actually coming out to the game on Saturday. So I think he’s pretty excited for it as well.

    “He was always planning to come to one game and then as soon as he heard I was co-captain he said, ‘OK, that’s the one, I’ll be there for that one’.

    “It is a special day for my family as well. My dad has obviously played such a massive role in my career that I’m glad to share that day with him as well.”

    ADVERTISEMENT

    McDowall believes his status at Warriors will help him cope with the pressures of leading his country.

    He said: “I think being part of the leadership group at Glasgow has been massive for my development, having the confidence to put my thoughts forward.

    “The leadership group is so open that everyone can share their thoughts and everyone contributes in their own way.

    “I don’t think it changes much in terms of what you want to get out of the tour, first and foremost it is your performance.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    “Obviously I don’t have a lot of caps myself but I am probably one of the older, more experienced pros in that team.

    “If I can lead by playing my own game and playing my own game well, then that’s probably the best way to do it.

    “I think everyone’s just really excited to play for Scotland. Obviously we have a lot of new caps in the same game and they’re all just really happy to put the best foot forward here.”

    After taking on the Canadians in Ottawa, the Scots face the United States in Washington on July 12, then meet Chile in Santiago on July 20 before finishing off the tour against Uruguay in Montevideo seven days later.

    Fixture
    Internationals
    Canada
    12 - 73
    Full-time
    Scotland
    All Stats and Data

    McDowall believes the confidence from Glasgow’s stunning success against Bulls in the United Rugby Championship final in Pretoria last month, where they came back from 13-0 down to win 21-16, will percolate through the Scotland squad, albeit he did not play in the game due to a hand injury.

    He said: “The boys who played in that final and everyone in the squad I guess, has just taken so much confidence from the fact that they went to a place like Pretoria and definitely didn’t have their own way.

    “They went 13-0 down before the end of the first half. It shows everyone that it can be done in probably one of the toughest places to play rugby in the world, against a good team as well.

    “It’ll give everyone massive confidence that when it comes to those tough points in games, they just know we’ve got the players and we’ve got the systems in place to stick it out.

    “Obviously I didn’t get the chance to play in the final but to be a part of it, seeing the way the team prepared through the week and the confidence they took into that game and the way they handled the tough moments, it definitely filtered right through the whole squad and hopefully will filter down to here as well.”

    Related

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Boks Office | Episode 36 | Six Nations Round 3 Review

    England A vs Ireland A | Full Match Replay

    HSBC SVNS Vancouver | Men's Day Three Highlights

    HSBC SVNS Vancouver | Women's Day Three Highlights

    "I would love to play with Siya Kolisi" | HSBC Life on Tour | Vancouver

    Kubota Spears vs Shizuoka BlueRevs | JRLO 2024/2025 | Full Match Replay

    Behind the Scenes with the Stars of the Kenya Rugby Sevens Team | HSBC SVNS Embedded | Episode 7

    O2 Inside Line: This Rose | Episode 3 | France Week

    Watch now: Lomu - The Lost Tapes

    Trending on RugbyPass

    Comments

    0 Comments
    Be the first to comment...

    Join free and tell us what you really think!

    Sign up for free
    ADVERTISEMENT

    Latest Features

    Comments on RugbyPass

    J
    JW 1 hour ago
    Where is the new breed of All Black 10?

    LOL angry at what? You trying to put words into peoples mouths with your wild theories? No I’m well used to that by now mate.

    ou should stop making silly comments like ‘a very small set of examples’ if you don’t want ppl to call you out and start taking you seriously!

    I have no idea what you’re talking about.

    FYI he’s started at 10 53 times since 2020/21 in all comps.

    Yes, as I’ve said. 38 of those times were (SR) after Mo’unga left for Japan, and possibly even the 8 times for Waikato (even though on a ‘sabbatical’ he was still made to play NPC after returning from Japan for some reason) were because NZR told him he had to switch because Richie was leaving.


    I can’t really make sense of what you’re trying to argue but all I can think I said was;

    He’s only got a very small set of examples so understandable people don’t immediately adjust to him as the best in the world

    I’m referring to international fans, who are only really going to watch the All Blacks, so yes, it’s them trying to compare his games last year to what they imagine he played like as a fullback for so long. Outside that, he’s played say now 45 odd times since he made the switch, and only 30 odd (thanks to a full SR season there) of the past 150 before that, you’re idea that it makes him a first five and therefor not still learning, is “entirely false”


    If you want people to start taking you seriously Nick you really need to up your debating game! No seriously though I know I like to avoid explaining things for dummies but you very rarely have the right take on any of my theories, you’ve just got you’re own angle that takes over, so don’t expect to be able to debate much (as it will be by yourself basically lol). I suspect it’s something to do with needing to keep a lot of things in your mind for your articles that it’s probably impossible for you to just listen and not introduce outside noise, so no biggie.

    162 Go to comments
    J
    Jacob Brown 1 hour ago
    Crusaders prepare for 'dangerous in all elements' Chiefs game-breaker

    Never have I  ever missed my favorite crypto podcast. There was this one episode where the guest was over the moon about Asset Rescue Specialist. I made a mental note, never thinking that I would ever need them. That changed when a malware attack wiped my $500,000 wallet clean. One minute I was going through my portfolio; the next, it was zero. My heart sank. I checked everything: my security logs, transaction history, even my device settings. That is when I saw it: unauthorized transfers draining my entire balance. Panic hit hard.I scrambled for solutions, frantically searching through forums, threads on Reddit, and tech support pages. But deep down, I knew this wasn't something so simple to fix. Then, in the middle of my chaos, that podcast episode remembered itself. He spoke of Asset Rescue Specialist with such confidence that I decided to trust his experience.It was one of the smartest things I could have done, reaching out to Asset Rescue Specialist. Since the very first message, they were calm, methodical, and reassuring. They made all the right questions and quickly diagnosed how the malware had invaded my wallet. Their team dove head-first into an advanced forensic recovery process while teaching me what went wrong.I was skeptical: how do you reverse a theft that's already happened? But they knew what they were doing. Their precision, their expertise, and just the determination to see it through blew me away. Then, the message changed everything: "We've recovered your funds." I couldn’t believe it. My $500,000 was back. My relief was indescribable. They didn’t just stop there—they fortified my security, patched vulnerabilities, and gave me a plan to ensure this never happens again.That podcast episode? Changed my life. Never thought casual listening would save my portfolio. Now, I don't listen for insights but for survival tips. And for whoever reads, let me share a piece of advice: you needn't wait for the worst to happen. Know who you are going to call before it's time.FOR MORE INFO:Company: ASSET RESCUE SPECIALISTWebsite info; https://assetrescuespecialist.com mail: assetrescuespecialist@qualityservice.com orsupport@assetrescuespecialist.com.WhatsApp:+ 1 9 0 3 5 5 9 1 7 3 3. 

    4 Go to comments
    LONG READ
    LONG READ The Springbok selection experiment is far from over The Springbok selection experiment is far from over
    Search