By the time Glasgow run out at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday to contest the United Rugby Championship final with the Bulls, a former Warrior hopes he will have a winners medal of his own to celebrate.
When the game kicks off, it will be 4am in New Zealand, but ex-Glasgow wing Cole Forbes will be tuning in and hopes the game in Pretoria will form the second leg of a double celebration.
Forbes, now with the Auckland-based Blues, will contest the Super Rugby Pacific final on Saturday morning (UK time) against The Chiefs.
He said: “Hopefully we’ve won the title and we’ll still be up so I can watch the Glasgow game.
"I still speak to the Kiwi boys, TJ [Tom Jordan] and Nonz [Sione Tuipulotu] most days. I was speaking to them while they were travelling to South Africa so I wish them luck and hope they can get the job done as well.”
Cole Forbes says he still keeps in touch with some of the Glasgow squad, including Sione Tuipulotu (Image: SNS)
He played 38 games for the Warriors in his two-and-a-half years at Scotstoun but left last summer to return to his native New Zealand.
Forbes, who initially arrived in Glasgow for a three-month trial after a recommendation from former Scotland cap Hugh Blake, looked back fondly on his time with the Warriors.
He added: “I came over when I was 21 and it was a good learning in my career with different style of play, different coaches.
"In terms of life, you grow up, but I’ve matured in terms of my rugby knowledge as well. It has been a huge help coming back here.”
Returning to New Zealand meant an end to the prospect of Forbes pulling on the Scotland jersey. He qualifies through his grandfather from Aberdeen.
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Gregor Townsend explained the situation regarding Forbes when he picked his summer tour squad.
The Scotland head coach said: "Super Rugby contracts are different in that you really have to make yourself available for the country you’re playing in, especially in New Zealand, so he wasn’t someone that came into our thoughts.
“It’s a pity he’s no longer in Scotland because we really loved how he played at Glasgow, his competitiveness, and how he was developing as both a winger and full-back, and he’s shown that for the Blues this season.”
Cole Forbes trained with Scotland, but was never capped (Image: SNS)
Forbes, meanwhile, has mixed emotions about missing out on a cap.
He added: “I know I was close at some times, making it into [Scotland squad] camps but I didn’t quite make it. That was a blessing because coming back to New Zealand, if I was internationally capped that would have been a lot harder.
“It was something I thought about at the time but now I’m just committed to The Blues and winning a title here.”
The Blues, who are coached by ex-Scotland boss Vern Cotter, also have Scottish-born FInlay Christie, the All Blacks scrum-half, in their starting team, while Forbes is among the replacements.
He outlined what it would mean to win Super Rugby Pacific for the first time in more than two decades.
“It has been 21 years since The Blues have won the title. That is the main goal as a rugby player, to win trophies, so if we can do that it would be bloody good.
"They had a period around 2003 where The Blues were dominating, then there was a period when they were one of the lesser New Zealand teams. To get back to the final two years ago, then a semi-final last year, feels like we’re back to where we should be.
“We’ve just got to go that one step further and win the title.”
He outlined the challenge that awaits from The Chiefs.
“They beat the Hurricanes who were the number one seeds in the semi-final.
“They’ve got Damian McKenzie, one of the form 10s in the competition, who runs most of their attack and they’ve got dangerous weapons outside him. They like to play expansive footy, which is different to how we play.
“Hopefully the weather holds out, but if not, we won’t mind a bit of wet weather rugby.”
Cole Forbes knows all about playing in difficult weather (Image: SNS)
If indeed the weather does not hold out, the memories of Friday evenings at Scotstoun won’t be far from Forbes’ mind at Eden Park.
“There’s no weather worse than Glasgow so if you can play in that, you can play anywhere,” he joked.
And asked about a dream outcome this weekend, he replied: “We’ll have the Super Rugby medals round our necks and I’ll be able to find somewhere at 4am that I can watch the Glasgow boys winning their own medals.”
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