Blow for SRU as role model Richie Gray rejects £300k offer and joins Sale

GLASGOW and Scotland lock forward Richie Gray has turned down the biggest contract offer ever made to a Scottish player to agree a move to Premiership club Sale Sharks next summer.

The 6ft 9in forward, who has emerged over the past year as one of Scottish rugby’s most marketable talents, was offered over £300,000 per year to sign a new deal with the Warriors, after Glasgow chief executive Kenny Baillie pulled in support from Mark Dodson, the new chief executive at the SRU, to put together a package that might persuade the 22-year-old to stay in Scotland for a bit longer. At around £6,000 per week, it remains far short of what international footballers earn, but would have been significantly more than any other home-based rugby internationalist.

Gray has opted to join the Manchester club for less money, and turned down more lucrative deals in France, underlining a desire to test himself in the Aviva Premiership and put himself in the shop window for the 2013 British and Irish Lions tour to Australia.

A Glasgow boy, schooled at King’s Park Primary and Kelvinside Academy, Gray termed the decision “the hardest call of my career”. He was already stirring interest in 2009/10 when he agreed to a two-year extension at Glasgow but now, as a fully-fledged internationalist, he is ready for a greater challenge.

He said: “I’d like to put on record my thanks to Glasgow Warriors for the support they’ve given me in all aspects of my life as a professional rugby player.

“Being a proud Glaswegian, it’s been a massive honour to wear the blue and black jersey, and I’m looking forward to enjoying more special days in it before my time here ends. I was impressed by the efforts that the club and Scottish Rugby [the SRU] made to keep me in Glasgow, and it’s without doubt the toughest decision I’ve ever had to make.

“This isn’t about money: I’ve always been keen to test myself in England, and I feel this is a good opportunity to do so. It’s a positive thing for all concerned to have clarity on the situation, and my full focus remains on helping Glasgow continue our excellent recent run.”

It is a major blow to Scottish rugby, both on the field and off it, especially after the recent change of leadership at the SRU. Gray has become a new star for the sport, his 6ft 9in frame, long blond hair and easygoing nature marking him out as something different. But the blend of a powerful 20-stone physique that very few Scots athletes can muster, along with great handling skills, pace and balance, have made him a player with rare potential.

When he made his RBS Six Nations debut for Scotland against France 20 months ago, French rugby was stunned and immediately the talk was of how much it would take and who would prise him from Scotland to the Top 14 – Toulouse, Clermont Auvergne or Stade Francais? Glasgow Warriors knew when they latched on to his marketing appeal by making masks of Gray’s face, and watched his face spread across the world to soldiers in Afghanistan, trekkers on Everest and in South America, that they had a finite time to make the most of him. When Dodson arrived at the SRU in September he vowed to do all he could to keep Gray in Scotland as part of a new commitment to professional rugby but, despite his best efforts, he has had to accept that Gray will follow a conveyor belt of top talent, including Max Evans, Richie Vernon, Kelly Brown, Euan Murray, Nathan Hines, Simon Taylor and Sean and Rory Lamont, in leaving the Scottish game.

Dodson commented: “There’s naturally disappointment on our side because we’re committed to keeping our top players in Scotland and Richie comes into that category. We did everything in our power to hold on to him, but we respect his decision, and look forward to supporting him as a key component of the national team.

“I’d like to reassure supporters of the professional teams that we will be doing everything in our power to support our coaches in securing the leading players at both Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh on long-term contracts, because we want to consolidate the clubs’ position as competitive, regularly-winning entities in the RaboDirect PRO12 and Heineken Cup.”

Baillie added: “We’re clearly very disappointed that Richie has decided to move on at the end of the season. The package was certainly substantial from both a playing and financial point of view, and Richie has informed us that this was an extremely difficult decision.

“We’ll be sad to see him go, but it’s important to emphasise that Glasgow Warriors are far from a one-man team and Richie’s departure will not affect our commitment to ensuring the club continues to grow, on and off the field.”