Cole Forbes’ post-Glasgow Warriors rise continues with ancestry call-up

Blues' Cole Forbes (L) and Crusaders' Johnny McNicholl compete for the ball during a Super Rugby Pacific match at Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch. (Photo by Sanka Vidanagama / AFP via Getty Images)

Cole Forbes’ stunning end to the season has continued with his first call-up for the Māori All Blacks.

The former Glasgow Warriors wing/full-back helped the Auckland Blues win the Super Rugby title at the weekend when they defeated the Waikato Chiefs 41-10 in the final at Eden Park. He is one of seven Blues players in the Māori All Blacks squad for the two-match series against a Japan XV.

Forbes, 24, left Glasgow at the end of the 2022-23 season having joined the club from Bay of Plenty in February 2021. He impressed sufficiently to be named in the Scotland squad in summer 2021 only to see a proposed tour scrapped due to Covid. The Scots had been due to play England A and full Tests against Georgia and Romania.

Forbes, a former junior All Black, qualifies for Scotland through his grandfather from Aberdeen. However, it now looks as if his immediate international future lies in New Zealand. Gregor Townsend, the Scotland coach, said last month that he had been impressed by Forbes but noted that Super Rugby contracts are such that “you really have to make yourself available for the country you’re playing in”.

The Māori All Blacks will play matches in Tokyo on June 29 and July 6. All players must have Māori whakapapa, or genealogy, confirmed in order to represent the side.

“The Māori All Blacks serve a greater purpose than rugby,” said Dame Farah Palmer, chair of New Zealand Māori Rugby Board. “We want Māori to be successful as Māori and to pursue excellence. We are immensely proud and excited to support the players in this campaign.”