Ex-Scotland squad man set to face Gregor Townsend's side in tour opener

Cole Forbes of Maori All Blacks scores the team's first try during the win over Japan in Tokyo. | Getty Images

Covid denied Cole Forbes a Scotland cap back in 2021 and now the versatile back looks set to line up against Gregor Townsend’s side on their summer tour.

New Zealand-born Forbes was a try-scorer in the Māori All Blacks’ 53-20 win over Japan in Tokyo on Saturday and is expected to play again this weekend when the Māori host Scotland in Whangārei.

If circumstances hadn’t intervened the 25-year-old could have been wearing dark blue in the tour opener at Semenoff Stadium. Forbes arrived in Scotland in February 2021 and spent almost two-and-a-half years with Glasgow Warriors. He was called into the Scotland squad after just five matches for the Scotstoun club.

Cole Forbes of Maori All Blacks scores the team's first try during the win over Japan in Tokyo. | Getty Images

The full-back/wing from Pukekohe was one of 17 uncapped players selected four years ago for a summer series which was supposed to begin with an A international against England and continue with Test matches in Romania and Georgia.

All three games ended up being cancelled as Covid spread through the Scotland camp. Forbes, who qualifies for Scotland through his grandfather from Aberdeen, was released by the Warriors at the end of the 2022-23 season and returned to his former club, Bay of Plenty, on New Zealand's North Island, to play in the National Provincial Championship.

He flourished back home, was called up by the Blues and helped the Auckland-based franchise win last season’s Super Rugby Pacific final.

Representative honours have followed, with Forbes selected for the Māori All Blacks. He is of Ngāti Awa descent, a Māori iwi (tribe) centred in the eastern Bay of Plenty region.

Cole Forbes playing for Glasgow Warriors against the Sharks during a URC match at Scotstoun in October 2021. | Getty Images

“It was a dream come true playing for that team, representing your heritage and culture,” Forbes said after his Māori debut last year. “It’s something I’m proud of.”

Forbes said he struggled with the Scottish winters during his time at Glasgow and he also believes his game better suited to southern hemisphere rugby but he didn’t entirely rule out a return north.

In an interview earlier this year he said: “I’m just trying to focus on winning another title for the Blues. But the door is still open, I could always go back.”