IT was one of those coincidences sport occasionally throws up. Walking round Scotstoun in his Canadian strip: Gordon McRorie, the 28-year-old scrum-half there to help promote his team's clash with Glasgow Warriors this evening. Emerging from the Glasgow offices: Finn Russell, the Scotland fly-half, there to do some extra work as he recovers from the serious head injury from the end of last season.

Not so much of a coincidence, until you realise how well they knew each other ahead of this unlikely meeting. They played together at Stirling County in the years before Russell was famous and McRorie was Canadian. Tonight they head back to the same ground – Russell as a spectator, McRorie as a key member of the Canada A side that will complete Glasgow's pre-season fixture list.

"I played with Finn [Russell], as well as Kevin and Glenn Bryce who have both just left Glasgow. Grant Gilchrist, though he is at Edinburgh. Jason Hill, Fraser Lyle too – I was at school with Fraser and have known him since I was a young lad," recalled McRorie.

"I am really excited to be playing Glasgow, especially when it was announced that it was going to be at Stirling County's ground Bridgehaugh. I was pretty chuffed to get the opportunity to come back and play at my home ground – it's been a while. It was my home ground for a long time and I have fond memories of good people there."

McRorie, who left Scotland on a short-term trip to Canada that has kept him there for five years so far and earned him 21 caps, has been over with the team on their three-match tour of the UK, which has had plenty of highlights – including scoring six tries against an Ulster side in Belfast – but, as yet, no wins.

"It is a development team, and so it is the strongest domestic side that we can put out," he said. "In terms of development there are a lot of good young kids who need this level of exposure.

"In the last two games we have shown our potential, it is just that these guys have not played at this level before so this is a big opportunity for us. It is definitely a domestic side, with a lot of young kids from the under 20s who Mark Anscombe, the head coach, wanted to see at this level."

Despite the defeats, McRorie sees enough potential in the current young side to suggest that if the organisers of the Guinness PRO12 ever do come through with their proposal to add North American sides to the tournament, then the Canadians will be ready.

"I would say we are definitely not at the level of PRO12 at the moment but with the pro rugby now starting in America, there is chat of two teams coming to Vancouver and Toronto, which would definitely be worthwhile," he said. "It would drive the level of competition up and give the kind of player who is on this tour top-level rugby week-in, week-out.

"Once that has developed, then a PRO12 link, if they do still want to come to North America, and we would be able to compete. I think there would be enough interest. You saw with the Vancouver Sevens that it was a huge success. I am sure that professional rugby would be a huge hit in places like Vancouver and Toronto.

"It is a new sport in Canada but the sevens showed – plus the Olympics as well – that the public in Canada have had their eyes opened. A professional rugby team would do well. It does not take long for a sport to become popular in North America if is is anything to do with contact or big collisions."