Glasgow ‘in really good place’ for first EPCR final

The versatile 25-year-old insists that Glasgow have put behind them the “massive” disappointment of their 14-5 home United Rugby Championship quarter-final loss to Munster Rugby on May 6.

“We’ve got enough confidence from what we’ve done this season that we’ll take anyone on at the moment,” he said. “We’ve put in a lot of hard work and we feel that we’re in a really good place going into the game.

“We’re disappointed massively with the Munster result and it’s been a tough one to shake off, but you can always get yourself up for a European final and I don’t think it will take too much for the boys to be chomping at the bit.

“We’d have loved to have played in the (URC) semi-final, but it’s given us a bit of a longer look at Toulon and we’ll be going into the game fresh.

“It’s bubbling nicely. It’s the first time the club have ever been to a European final, so it’s new territory for us and one the players are really excited to get stuck into.”

It’s almost four years since Glasgow last reached a major final – the PRO14 which they lost 18-15 to Leinster Rugby at Glasgow’s Celtic Park – but it’s the 2015 PRO12 decider that is etched into McDowall’s memory, as the Warriors triumphed 31-13 against Munster.

“I remember the year they won the final in 2015 was my second last year at school, so I remember watching it at school with a lot of my mates,” he recalled. “As a Glasgow fan growing up, it was a pretty special day to be able to see the team finally get to the next step.

“I guess that team went into history in Glasgow and in the competition, so it’s a massive occasion for us to have the opportunity of doing the same.”

The Warriors face a Toulon team with a lot of EPCR history behind them, having become the first outfit to win the Heineken Champions Cup three years in a row from 2013 to 2015.

“I spoke to my Dad the other day watching Toulon growing up, winning two Heineken Cups on the bounce with the team they had,” McDowall said.

“I couldn’t think of anyone you’d rather play in the final with that kind of heritage. To be able to go head-to-head with them will be pretty special.

“There are international stars littered across their team and a lot of individual talents that can light up a game. They’re a massively threatening team but one we’re willing to take on.”

McDowall pinpointed Glasgow’s Challenge Cup opener – a 22-19 victory at Bath back in December – as the match that transformed their season.

“A massive turning point for us this season was the Bath away game,” he said. “We’d had a few wins and a few losses up to then. We probably sent what was perceived to be a weakened team down to Bath, who were at full strength, and managed to turn them over.

“That gave the team a massive confidence boost and we went on a pretty big run of wins from that point in. We look at it as massively important and I guess it has given the club a chance to play in their first European final.”