Congratulations go to Martin Rowlands who this week made his debut for the Republic of Ireland in an international friendly at Lansdowne Road against Romania. The Irish won the game 1-0 and Rowlands was a second half substitute, playing 16 minutes of the left side of midfield. The Hammersmith born Rangers player was part of the under-21 set up 6 years ago but his international career took a step back through injury and Brentford’s poor performance. Since his move across town to QPR he has grown in confidence and impressed everybody with his skill, commitment and will to win. He picked up the Rangers player of the season this year and was rewarded with promotion back to the first division and a place in Brian Kerr’s squad.
Rowlands’ grandparents are both Irish making him eligible to play and now he will be looking to become a regular in the squad ahead of world cup qualifying matches beginning in September.
Rowlands won his second cap yesterday (Saturday) against Nigeria as a substitute and looks certain to win a third against Jamaica in the coming week before a welcome break, getting married an starting pre-season training in preparation for the first division. A fantastic year for Martin and well done.