The former Dragons lock in currently plying his trade in France as he tests the waters of his third major European league, having previously played for Wasps in the Gallagher Premiership.
Wales head coach Warren Gatland has included the 6ft 8in tall, 19st 8lb Rowlands in his starting line-up for the first time in this campaign. He joins Adam Beard in the second row with skipper Dafydd Jenkins dropping back to the blindside.
“They’ve got a big team but I think you’ve seen in the last few years that French rugby is about much more than just a physical threat,” said Rowlands.
“The physical side of it is something we’ll be looking forward to. We look to go toe-to-toe with them because we’ve got a big team up front – so bring it on!”
The French maybe missing superstar scrum half Antoine Dupont, now with French Sevens ahead of the Olympics, outside half Matthieu Jalibert, injured in the Italian game, and blockbusting centre Jonathan Danty, who was sent off against the Italians, but they are still bristling with power.
“Rugby is much easier if you can get some go forward. It’s a self-fulfilling circle, and it’s something we’re working on. We’re trying to bring our best game to allow us to create physically dominant moments,” added Rowlands.
“Everybody is probably a little bit surprised at France because they were expecting them to be flying like they were up until unfortunately losing at the World Cup. They’re a team rammed full of quality and I see that in the league I play in there.
“It’s full of quality players. If they get it right, there’s no reason why we won’t see a French performance like we’ve seen in the last six months this weekend.
“We’ll stick to what we want to do and hopefully it ends in a good result for us.”
