Money talks as Richie Vernon is latest Scot to be lured away

Published on Tuesday 15 March 2011 20:26

THE drip of rugby internationalists leaving Scotland is continuing with No 8 Richie Vernon departing Glasgow this summer after signing a two-year deal with Premiership club Sale.

The 23-year-old back row came on for the injured Kelly Brown in Sunday's Calcutta Cup match to take his number of international caps to ten since his debut in 2009 and that rise to prominence is essentially behind his move south.

Vernon was on a relatively low salary at Glasgow but has come to wider attention with his performances both for the Warriors and Scotland and his club simply cannot afford to match what he was offered elsewhere.

He follows the Lamont brothers, Rory and Sean, Euan Murray, Scott Lawson, Kelly Brown, Dan Parks and Max Evans, who will join Castres this summer, as an internationalist leaving the club in recent years, on top of Thom Evans retiring, and players such as Mark McMillan, Tim Barker, Justin Va'a and Dan Turner also departing as Glasgow seek to stay within a tight playing budget.

Edinburgh managed to keep Ross Ford for another two years and Glasgow have achieved a similar welcome result in tying Graeme Morrison to a new deal, but coach Sean Lineen knows that, on a playing budget of less than 3 million a year - one of the lowest in the Magners League - he has little hope of keeping all of his players once they reach international level.

Sale's executive director of sport Steve Diamond said: "I am delighted that Richie is joining us. He is part of the current Scotland squad and played very well when he went on in the Calcutta Cup game at the weekend.

"He is a hard-working flanker or number eight and he will fit in very well with my plans for next season and beyond."

Vernon said: "Steve Diamond is very clear on the way forward for Sale Sharks, and I am delighted to commit myself to the club for the next two seasons. Having broken into the Scotland side, I see playing in the Aviva Premiership as a challenge that will only improve me as a player."

Lineen admitted: "Richie will be a loss to us, no doubt, but we cannot keep everyone and I know Richie has the ability to flourish in the Premiership so I wish him well.

"We have played a big part in helping him to develop from a promising youngster to an internationalist and we will continue to do that with the young back rows we have like Rob Harley, Ryan Wilson, Chris Fusaro, Calum Forrester alongside the experienced guys we have like Johnnie Beattie and John Barclay."

Meanwhile, Lineen was happier to confirm the signing of Ulster's Scottish-qualified wing Tommy Seymour, first revealed in The Scotsman 12 days ago.

He has also been backed by Scotland winger Simon Danielli, also at Ulster, who believes the "under-rated" 22-year-old could be a good signing.

Seymour, born in Nashville, Tennessee, to a Glasgow-born mother, has signed a two-year deal to join the Warriors this summer. He has come through the Ulster academy system and, since his step-up to the senior squad last summer, has made five appearances for the 1st XV.

He has struggled for game-time competing with Danielli, Andrew Trimble and another young Irish talent, Craig Gilroy.

"I'm just taking things one step at a time," said Seymour, "but I feel I will be in the right place to develop as a player and to strive towards representative honours. I'm very keen to establish myself as a Magners League player. I've always been attracted to Scotland because of the style of rugby they play and the expansive role of the backs."

Danielli, who returned to the Scotland team in Sunday's Calcutta Cup match and is odds-on to feature in today's team for Saturday's final RBS Six Nations match with Italy, is confident Seymour will make an impact at Glasgow. He said: "He's a really hard-working lad and is always out after training doing extras and working on elements of his game. I think he's been under-rated at Ulster. He hasn't had many opportunities but, when he has, he's made an impact."

Lineen welcomed Seymour, acknowledging that, with his squad missing between ten to 15 players for the opening months of the new season with his internationalists at the World Cup, Seymour will get an early chance to prove his worth.

The coach is also trying to source home-grown talent with under-20 caps Stuart Hogg and Mark Bennett in his sights.