When he saw he had a missed call from Scotland team manager Gav Scott on Monday night, Blair Cowan’s heart leapt.
The flanker, surprisingly left out of Scotland’s final squad of 31 and half-resigned to missing out on his World Cup dream, got a reprieve as around 14 hours after that call he’d arrived at Scotland’s base at the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle as the replacement for the injured Grant Gilchrist.
And the New Zealand-born son of a Scottish mother has already re-focused and fits straight into the group, having kept his disappointment at failing to make the original squad under wraps.
“Got a call last night, tied a few things up with the club, packed the bags and left home at 4.30 this morning,” he laughed on arriving. “I was resting on the couch when I saw I had missed a call from Gav.
“Obviously I got excited, there would be no other reason why he would be calling, and when I called back he put me straight on to Vern (Cotter).”
Cowan had played nine games in a row at seven for Scotland prior to the summer’s warm-up internationals, but in the end only John Hardie was selected among the open-side candidates, and it was a desperate disappointment for Cowan.
“It was absolutely devastating,” he recalled. “But the World Cup is the mecca and we knew from the word go that 7 was a crunch position, with so much competition. The margins were fine in selection.
“It took me a bit of time to move on, but I didn’t hold anything against them. You just look at John Hardie’s performance against Japan – I thought he was outstanding.
“Vern gave me the original call and then another a few days later ro discuss things. We have always had a good relationship, he has been open with me and I appreciate that.
“He just said that opportunities would probably arise, like this, and to be prepared for it.”
Not all those omitted have taken it so professionally, but that aspect of this gruelling tournament, with four days to be played in 17 days even before the knockout stages, means that even the disappointed players have to be ready, argues Cowan.
“That’s the reality of the beast,” he said. “These are not like club games; this is top of the pile rugby so every impact is going to be big. The body can only take so much. I was always aware that this could possibly happen, so I was always on my toes.”
And while gutted for Gilchrist, he’s keen to make the most of his opportunity.
“It’s not the way you want it to happen, but that’s the game,” he said. “It’s every kid’s dream as an egg chaser to come to the World Cup.
“You watch it growing up. You see the magnitude and what it does for the players, the supporters and the countries. To be involved is something special and something everyone would die to do.
“In London, where I live, there’s a buzz about it, people are comparing it to the Olympics.”
“I saw the Japan game but I missed the USA because I was training with London Irish. There’s been lots to feed off. It is a big job for me to come in, keep the energy and make sure I’m switched on with everything.
“It’s a huge challenge first off but I’ve been preparing for my first club game of the season and I’m ready.
“I’m in a good state of mind to play rugby.”
Cowan’s call-up might be deduced as an admission that originally picking one open-side might have been a mistake, but with the head knock that put Hardie out of the USA game unlikely to prevent him playing on Saturday against South Africa, it wasn’t an absolute necessity to have another back rower.
Fraser Brown did well as backup open-side for half an hour of the USA game but was picked as a hooker, and having Cowan allows the squad more room to rest Ross Ford, who has started both games so far, if they feel the need.
A like-for-like swap of another lock was complicated by Jim Hamilton’s retirement even though the team management wanted him for stand-by and a subsequent injury to Ben Toolis, who was in the wider training squad this summer.
Rob Harley, who is primarily a 6 but can play lock or seven if required, was the other candidate and probably next in line should more injuries occur.