HAVING announced the signing of three local players and one from England to cover the Rugby World Cup, Glasgow Warriors say they are close to making more signings to add even more strength to the squad for next season when they defend their Guinness PRO12 title.
The fixture list for the campaign was published yesterday, so they now know they will definitely be facing the Scarlets and Connacht at home, plus Munster away, without any of their players who make any of the national squads for the start of the World Cup. Depending on how those national teams do, Glasgow could still be missing players when they face the Newport Gwent Dragons at home, Leinster away and the Ospreys at home during the knockout phase.
"We've been drawn with the Scarlets in our European Champions Cup pool, so it will be good to play them in the opening match of our PRO12 campaign," observed Gregor Townsend, the head coach. "They're a team we'll be seeing a lot of next season and have a squad full of quality players who will give us a real test. It’s an exciting start to the season and it's great that our first two matches are at home against strong opposition."
Which is why yesterday they announced that they would be bringing in three local front-row players on short-term contracts to cover these games, as well as Rory Clegg, a fly half who was once touted as the heir apparent to Jonny Wilkinson at club and and national level, but never fulfilled those high expectations. He signs from Newcastle Falcons, the club he re-joined after a spell at Harlequins.
"This is a great chance for me to join the Guinness PRO12 champions and play at high level during the Rugby World Cup. It's an exciting time to join the club as they begin the defence of their title," said Clegg.
The prop resources have been bolstered by adding looseheads Gary Strain and Steven Findlay, both from Glasgow Hawks, while re-signing George Hunter, who came through the development programme to win a squad spot at Glasgow but then played most of his rugby at Ayr.
"All three have been training with us over the last few weeks and put in a huge amount of effort, and have shown a number of improvements already," Townsend said. "We're also close to adding further depth to our squad ahead of the new season.”
Meanwhile, Edinburgh have been handed a tough start to their season, with Leinster at home, Treviso away and the Ospreys at home being lined up for the period that clashes with the pool stages of the World Cup. Ulster at home, Zebre away and Connacht away, are the fixtures that overlap with the knockout stages.
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