Scotsman Low settles into life at Exeter

Whilst all the hype north of the border is currently surrounding the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, down south Scotsman Moray Low is quietly settling into life with new club Exeter Chiefs.

One of seven summer signings brought to Devon by head coach Rob Baxter this summer, the experienced Scottish international has spent this past week not only getting to know his new team-mates, but at the same time engaging in his first stint of pre-season training with the Aviva Premiership.

After eight years with the Glasgow Warriors, the 29-year-old prop felt the time was right for a change and with the Chiefs on the look-out for a proven tight-head, a move to Sandy Park suited all parties.

Alongside England's Tom Johnson, Low was given a later return to pre-season than the majority of the Chiefs squad as both men were involved in summer international tours.

Low made three appearances for Scotland during their tour, which took in games against the USA, Canada, Argentina and South Africa, and he hopes playing in the Aviva Premiership will keep him in the thoughts of Scotland head coach Vern Cotter, especially with the

Rugby World Cup just a year away.

Indeed, Low was part of Scotland’s squad at the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand but, after not featuring, he admits he is determined to play his way into contention for the tournament in England next autumn.

“Everyone else will be having the same mindset as me – they want to push to get into the squad,” said Low, who has won 29 caps. “Coming down here, I want to put my name forward for selection with the Chiefs and hopefully play as many games as I can. Hopefully that will put me forward for international duty as well.

“Being at the last World Cup was great, but I didn’t get to play. That has driven me on a bit more. I’ve always wanted to play in a World Cup for my country so I felt this was a good place to come and expose myself to rugby in the Premiership, there’s no better way to prepare yourself.

“There are a lot of good players here and I need to work hard. No one’s got the jersey yet, it’s about putting your hand up in training and especially in the pre-season games. If you do that and work hard, the rewards will come with that.”

A key figure in recent years for Glasgow Warriors - both in the Pro12 League and in Europe - Low says the challenge of testing himself in English rugby's top tier has given him a real lift heading into the new campaign.

He added:  “I’m really excited coming to a new club. I was at Glasgow for eight years and coming somewhere new just freshens things up and gives you an extra boost and spur to push on.

“I had my first training session on Monday and it was good. It was warm, both in the gym and outside, but they’re a good bunch of boys and I’m looking forward to getting stuck in.

“Coming down here is a chance to do something different, get into the training here – different game plans, different ways of scrummaging, line-outs, calls, moves and the gym work is a bit different.

“There’s a lot to learn and pick up and add to your CV, but there’s also a chance to bring what you’ve learned as well, which I’m sure they’ll be asking me about.

“It’s good that you can learn things from it but you can also add your view. If they don’t agree with it they don’t agree with it, but there are things they can take from my past experiences.”

Low said one of the key reasons why he opted to sign for the Chiefs was because he could see a lot of similarities in the way they do things to Glasgow.

With a hard-working ethos behind the scenes and great camaraderie between the players, he was keen to link up with Baxter’s side.

“Meeting the club, it reminded me of things back home,” he said. “The sea’s not far away, it’s nice weather and it’s a good club.

“The environment they have here, speaking with Rob (Baxter) and everyone else when I came down, it was quite similar to what Glasgow’s environment was about – having a good bunch of boys who all work hard for each other and they’re all good mates as well. That sold it to me a lot.

“It’s a good club that’s come far, and the ambitions that they’ve got – I can see the stadium from my house and it’s changing every day.

“That’s fantastic to see and to be playing in front of massive crowds week in, week out and the challenge of playing in the Premiership is something I’ve always wanted to do and I felt the time was right now. Exeter gave me that chance and I was delighted.”

Photo courtesy of Exeter Rugby Club/Pinnacle Photo Agency