Rowlands came on to win his first cap in last weekend’s narrow defeat to the French, while Launchbury came off the bench to help England set up a tilt at the Triple Crown on home soil on 7 March as they beat Ireland 24-12 in Round 3.
“When I get to the end of my playing career I’ll be able to look back and say I played alongside players like Joe Launchbury at my club and Alun Wyn Jones for Wales. They will be some special memories,” said Rowlands.
“Joe sent me a message saying congratulations when I was picked. He is someone in years gone by I’ve looked up to and tried to emulate, so that was very nice.
“I was just ecstatic to be involved. It was a bit frantic coming off the bench and into an intense test match like that, but I tried to get some involvements where I could and I really enjoyed it.
“I’m sure it will be very special again if I get the chance to run out at Twickenham. I will be giving my all to try to get that chance.
“It will be a big occasion and we need to go there and right some wrongs from the last couple of weeks. There is a sense of frustration and we need to put in a full performance and get the result.
“Test matches hinge on big moments and there were a couple of momentum shifts against France. Otherwise we would have got the result, just like in Ireland.
“There is always plenty to work on, but we’re not far away. Any day can be our day, so why not at Twickenham in two weeks’ time?”
Rowlands was a newcomer to Wayne Pivac’s first Six Nations squad and finally got his chance to step onto the international stage when he replaced Jake Ball in the 65th minute. Now he wants to build on that and add to his cap collection.
“I hope this is just the starting point for me. When I started out playing rugby I always said my goal was to find out where the ceiling was for me,” added the 28-year-old.
“Coming on against France was a big step forward in being able to play test match rugby and I am keen to get my teeth into as much as I can and get out there again.”
Rowlands was able to be added to the Welsh squad because of Welsh connections on his father’s side of the family. They were all out in force at Principality Stadium to see him win his first cap.
“All my family were there and a few friends as well. It meant a lot to them to see me run out and pull on that red jersey for the first time,” he said.
“It is the first time that the whole Welsh side of my family had been back to Wales together, so it was a very proud day for me. There were even a few red shirts being worn on the English side of the family.
“I’ve always known I’m Welsh qualified and it has always been a bit of a focus for me. I was over the moon to be involved in the squad and it was capped off by getting onto the pitch.”
Playing at Twickenham will be nothing new to Rowlands. He won two Blues for Oxford University in wins over Cambridge in the Varsity Match in 2012 and 2013 and has also played there for Wasps.
He became the 39th Welsh international associated with the Dark Blues. The last Welsh international to play for Oxford was Richard Wintle, who won one cap against Western Samoa in 1988, and played in the Varsity Match in 1993.
