I made sandwiches in Subway and worked night shifts in Amazon Warehouse – now I’m making my own way in Six Nations
RUGBY star Kyle Rowe has gone from making sandwiches in Subway to making his Six Nations debut for Scotland.
The 25-year-old is in line to finally play at the tournament when his country takes on Wales in Cardiff this Saturday.
But it’s been a long and painful road to Six Nations glory for Rowe.
The versatile winger, who is in his second spell with Glasgow Warriors, has already had several contracts ripped up.
And his sole appearance for Scotland ended in tears when he suffered an ACL injury after just 12 minutes.
Rowe’s first spell in Glasgow came to a shuddering end when Covid hit in 2020, dashing his hopes of making the GB Sevens Olympics programme.
It forced him to look elsewhere for work, with Rowe already used to doing other jobs after previously being a sandwich-maker at Subway.
He ended up taking a night shift job at an Amazon warehouse.
And Rowe told the Times: “Pretty quickly I had to find a job to pay bills, which is when I worked for Amazon in the warehouse.
“I would work the night shift, from 6pm to 2am or 4am, either chucking parcels in boxes and putting them on a van so people could go and deliver them, or put them on a conveyor belt.
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“It was pretty mindless to be honest, especially working eight to ten hours at night — it was pretty dark.
“That didn’t help my sleep schedule or my mental health, as I’d be getting in at 6am or 7am, sleeping until 4pm and then waking up to be in at 6pm again.
“You only really have an hour to yourself to have some food and then you’re back in.
“That was me until November 2020 and then I was made redundant by them, which I knew was going to happen as I was only a temporary worker.”
Following his exit from Amazon, Rowe secured a new GB Sevens contract in 2021 and began training with Edinburgh.
But they booted him out after he was axed from the Olympics squad that year, leaving him searching for new opportunities yet again.
It then led to a call from London Irish, who handed Rowe a deal.
And in 2022 he achieved his boyhood dream by playing for Scotland, six months after being an unused sub at the Six Nations.
But Rowe’s debut against Argentina soon turned into a nightmare after he tore his ACL, leaving him sidelined for nine months.
Incredibly, as he prepared to make his playing return, London Irish then went into administration.
And Rowe was made redundant yet again before first club Glasgow came calling last July with a solid two-year deal.
He has since shined this season with seven tries in 11 games.
Rowe now hopes he can get a start for Scotland when they take on Wales in the Six Nations this weekend.
He added: “I don’t want to just be a one-cap-and-done guy, I want to get as many as I can.
“I think I’m a pretty resilient person with everything I’ve been through, which puts me in pretty good stead mentally, whether I’m selected or not.
“I’ve shown what I can do, I’ve proven I can come back from a pretty bad injury and I feel like I’ve got my confidence back, beating players, giving offloads, stuff like that.
“I feel like I’m in a good space if I do get selected.”