Stafford McDowall considered quitting rugby for family farm until Glasgow Warriors had a change of heart

There was a point towards the end of last season when Stafford McDowall considered walking away from rugby and going to work on the family farm.

Stafford McDowall has flourished at Glasgow Warriors under Franco Smith. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

No offer of a new contract from Glasgow Warriors was forthcoming and the centre was struggling for game time under Danny Wilson. Fast forward 12 months and McDowall admits he has had to pinch himself such has been the turnaround. He has been a fixture in the Glasgow team this season, captaining the club on several occasions as they chase honours on two fronts. He was also part of Gregor Townsend’s Six Nations squad and although he didn’t feature in the championship, he has his fingers crossed for an opportunity during Scotland’s World Cup warm-up games this summer. As for the tournament itself, well, that would be the icing on the cake.

It’s been quite the turnaround for the 25-year-old from Dumfries as a quick look at his playing statistics reveals. McDowall started just three matches for the Warriors last season compared to 15 in the current campaign and there should be more to come, with Glasgow through to the semi-finals of the European Challenge Cup – they face the Scarlets in Llanelli a week on Saturday – and the quarter-finals of the United Rugby Championship, where a home tie awaits, probably against Munster.

“I think I am pinching myself a little bit,” smiles McDowall. “At the end of last season I didn’t know what I was doing rugby-wise or where my career was going. That was frustrating and disappointing in a lot of ways. So to potentially have a role to play at the end of this season, a good season, and the part I’ve had to play in a lot of ways has been pretty exciting for me.”

Stafford McDowall scores against Zebre, one of seven tries he has contributed this season. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

It was in March last year that it was first intimated that he might not have a future at Scotstoun. His form had dipped, he hadn’t had much game-time and, unsurprisingly, his confidence had taken a dent. “I wasn’t playing as well as I had when I was coming through under Dave Rennie. And it was maybe a different style of play under Danny [Wilson] and I lost confidence in my ability. I think that’s massive to have faith in yourself as a player. If you lose that then it can be a hard hole to dig yourself out of.”

McDowall has flourished under Franco Smith, who was chosen as Wilson’s successor when the latter paid the price for Glasgow’s poor end to last season. But the centre has another man to thank for offering him a new contract during those dark days last spring. Al Kellock, the Warriors managing director and former captain, decided McDowall deserved another chance and, a couple of weeks after the player had been told he probably wouldn’t be kept on, he signed a one-year deal which he has since extended.

“I didn’t know if I was going to be a rugby player at all, it was a tough time,” he says of his time in limbo. “There were clubs folding in the Premiership so that wasn’t really in a good place. I could maybe have gone to France or the southern hemisphere to get back on my feet again. I wasn’t that sure what my options were but thankfully Al Kellock showed a bit of faith in me to keep me around. And I’ve hopefully paid him back for that this season.

“The gap in time between being told that potentially there wouldn’t be anything for me to the club coming back with something was maybe 10 to 14 days. In that time I had conversations with my family, my girlfriend and my agent to see what my options were. And the feeling at that point was that if the right thing came up I would have taken it. And if not I could have been going back to the farm to start my career there.”

Stafford McDowall was part of Scotland's Six Nations squad. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

Tending to the cattle will have to wait. McDowall and Glasgow plan to milk a bit more out of the current campaign, starting with Saturday’s home game against Connacht, their final match of the regular URC season. The Warriors currently sit in fourth place, four places higher than where they finished last year. The turnaround under Smith has been remarkable and McDowall is just one of several players re-energised by the South African coach who has proved adept at utilising his squad. Centre has been one of the success stories of the season for Glasgow and while much of the focus has been on the Scotland pairing of Huw Jones and Sione Tuipulotu, McDowall and Sam Johnson have been quietly effective. “The way Franco’s got the team playing and working hard probably suits me,” said McDowall, who has weighed in with seven tries. “Among the backs we’re playing more running rugby.”

The Franco factor cannot be overstated. He has imbued his wider squad with a confidence to believe they had as much right to start matches as the star turns. “He’s rotating the squad well to the point that when we put out a perceived weaker team we can still go away from home and beat teams,” added McDowall. “I think he and the other coaches have just put a little bit of confidence back into everyone.”

While his focus is ending the season strongly with Glasgow, McDowall can be forgiven for allowing his thoughts to drift to the World Cup. “Obviously I want to try to get into the squad and push as much as possible but I need to make the most of the opportunities I get here and play well,” he said. “I don’t want to start looking ahead and thinking I could go and then not put my best foot forward here for the team. It’s in the back of your head that if you make it into the wider training squad then potentially you’ve got a chance of winning your first cap. I would be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it but I want to try to finish the season well here first.”