By DAVID LEGGAT
Missing selection in the Waikato squad in 1996 may have been the best thing to happen to Glenn Metcalfe's rugby career ... it provided the spur to take him overseas.
And tomorrow night he will be running out at fullback for his 40th cap as Scotland look to
overcome enormous odds and dump defending champions Australia out of their own tournament at Suncorp Stadium.
The 33-year-old was born in Auckland, raised in Te Awamutu and educated in Hamilton. He played for Hamilton Marist before joining the Glasgow Academicals club, coached at the time by former Waikato coach Kevin Greene.
"I thought this was an opportunity to look elsewhere, so my girlfriend and I decided to travel, play some club rugby in Glasgow and have a couple of years out.
"It was perfect timing for me because professional rugby started in Scotland the year after I arrived."
One thing, as they say, led to another and Metcalfe, with a grandmother born in Glasgow, made his debut against Australia in 1998 and has proved a highly reliable last line in a team not noted for consistency.
He played four games at the 1999 World Cup when the Scots bowed out to the All Blacks in the quarter-finals and he knows he won't be around for the next one, so tomorrow has special significance.
"The beauty of the World Cup is that, if you get a chance - as Wales showed against the All Blacks and Fiji almost did against us - and if we get everything right, we can compete."
Now married to Lisa and with 19-month-old Sam to consider, the time is coming to decide on Scotland or return to New Zealand.
The Scottish lifestyle suits and, although the tug of home is strong, there is a feeling of wanting to put something back on a coaching front.
"We've got family in New Zealand and try to get back every year. But part of me thinks in some ways it's a shame to walk away after 7 years in Scotland."
The Scots have made one change from the side who beat Fiji: Jason White replaces Ross Beattie at blindside flanker.
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