GRAYSON HART used to watch Mike Blair playing for Scotland on television when he was living in New Zealand - now he is looking forward to competing with him for a place in the Glasgow Warriors team.
Both scrum-halves have signed up at Scotstoun in the wake of Niko Matawalu and Murray McConnell leaving the Guinness PRO12 champions.
And in the early part of the upcoming season - with Henry Pyrgos set to be on international duty - they will battle it out with Ali Price for the number nine jersey.
Former Edinburgh Rugby player Hart, 27, earned Scotland caps last summer and is eligible for the country due to his grandmother.
However, for now the Warriors is his main focus. "Knowing my Scottish roots, I used to watch a lot of Scotland games when I was in New Zealand," he told the club website. "And when I heard Mike Blair was signing it was cool as I knew it would be good to learn off a guy like him.
"It's been awesome so far and I'm loving being at the club. Pre-season has been tough, but everything has been really beneficial.
"I can't wait for whenever I get my first chance to play at Scotstoun. So far all of the fans have been hugely welcoming so I want to return the gratitude they have given me.
"Niko Matawalu was a pretty special player, but I hope I'll add to the club with my own strengths and have similar success."
Former Scotland Sevens captain Colin Gregor, meanwhile, who is the third highest points scorer of all time in the World Series, has announced he is to retire.
The 34-year-old playmaker made 58 appearances for his country in the abbreviated game and scored an amazing 1345 points, but has been forced to call it a day due to a knee injury.
He played for Scotland Sevens in the Commonwealth Games in 2006 and 2014 and in the XV-a-side game turned out for Glasgow Warriors between 2004 and 2011 and was capped nine times for Scotland 'A'.
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