'Brilliant servant' - Glasgow Warriors plan fitting send off for one of their legends

Snubbed hooker backed to bounce back and use Scotland omission as motivation

Richie Gray will play his final game for Glasgow Warriors and most likely bring the curtain down on his storied Scottish rugby career when he takes to the field in Stellenbosch on Saturday against the Stormers.

The forward will leave for Japan with some warm words ringing in his ears from his coach Franco Smith who described him as “a brilliant servant and a top man”.

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Gray, 35, was this week omitted from the Scotland squad for the autumn internationals and unless he is called up during the series he has almost certainly played his last game for the national side. He will join Toyota Verblitz next month ahead of the start of the new Japanese season which clashes with the Six Nations.

He will leave as one of the country’s most decorated players having won 79 Scotland caps and one for the British and Irish Lions. In between two successful spells with Glasgow he played for Sale Sharks, Castres and Toulouse, winning the Top 14 with the latter. His return to Glasgow saw him play a key role in last season’s United Rugby Championship success.

Richie Gray with his family after Glasgow Warriors' match against Benetton last month, his final game at Scotstoun.Richie Gray with his family after Glasgow Warriors' match against Benetton last month, his final game at Scotstoun.
Richie Gray with his family after Glasgow Warriors' match against Benetton last month, his final game at Scotstoun. | SNS Group

“From our perspective, it’s fantastic to send him off on his new journey,” said Smith. “Like I said before, he’s been a brilliant servant to the club and he’s a top man. If you play almost 80 Test matches for your country and you represent the club twice for more than 50 games it means there’s something special about you.

“The reason we agreed to let him go was for him and his family to spend a little bit more time together and maybe extend his career beyond what it might have been at Glasgow.

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“We want to send him off here in a special game against a high quality team. He’s been brilliant on tour. I purposefully brought him so the last of his experience would rub off on to the boys here.”

Meanwhile, Smith has backed Johnny Matthews to bounce back from his Scotland snub and use it as motivation. The hooker was a surprising omission from Gregor Townsend’s autumn squad, with the coach selecting Edinburgh pair Ewan Ashman and Paddy Harrison and Sharks’ Dylan Richardson as his three hookers.

“He is a good player and he’s knocking on the door and he’s going to keep on knocking,” Smith said. “He’s handled the disappointment well and I think we’ll see him highly motivated on Saturday.”

The match is being played at Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch rather than Cape Town Stadium where the Stormers usually play. It’s a smaller venue in a rugby-mad town and Smith thinks it will be a memorable occasion.

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“There’s a massive buzz around,” said the coach. “It’s a small town and the people love the game here. Dr Danie Craven, who was the father of South Africa rugby, played and developed the game here. There’s a statue of him and there’s a really good vibe around town but also a sense of tension ahead of the game.”

Glasgow Warriors' Sione Tuipulotu is tackled by Stormers' Manie Libbok during last season's United Rugby Championship quarter-final.Glasgow Warriors' Sione Tuipulotu is tackled by Stormers' Manie Libbok during last season's United Rugby Championship quarter-final.
Glasgow Warriors' Sione Tuipulotu is tackled by Stormers' Manie Libbok during last season's United Rugby Championship quarter-final. | SNS Group

John Dobson, the Stormers coach, is similarly enthused, particularly because he has been able to select creative Springboks trio Manie Libbok, Damian Willemse and Warrick Gelant in the same line-up for the first time this season. “Those three guys are really special, whether you call them playmakers or game-breakers,” Dobson said. “At every breakdown, when we are on attack, two of them are on one side, and that’s going to put any defence under pressure.”

The mercurial Libbok has a point to prove. The gifted fly-half had a real off night at Scotstoun last season in the URC quarter-finals, missing all four kicks at goal as his side lost 27-10 to the Warriors. Dobson said Libbok would be their kicker on Saturday rather than Willemse as the Boks pair face up to Glasgow two weeks before South Africa take on Scotland at Murrayfield.

Smith, meanwhile, has spoken of his pride at Sione Tuipulotu’s appointment as Scotland captain. “He’s a quality man and he’s got a big influence on players around him,” said Smith. “He plays for the team, it doesn’t matter what jersey he wears and I think that’s something the Scotland team and the Scotland supporters will be able to identify with.”

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Tuipulotu also captains Glasgow this weekend in the continued absence of Kyle Steyn. The winger has had an operation on his fibula and will be out for six to eight weeks, with Smith expecting him to return for the 1872 Cup matches against Edinburgh. Tickets went on sale this week and Glasgow have already sold 12,000 for the first leg on December 22 which is being played at Hampden Park for the first time.

DHL Stormers v Glasgow Warriors (URC, Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch. Saturday, 12.45 UK time)

DHL Stormers: Warrick Gelant; Ruhan Nel, Dan du Plessis (capt), Damian Willemse, Leolin Zas; Manie Libbok, Paul de Wet; Brok Harris, Andre-Hugo Venter, Frans Malherbe, JD Schickerling, Ruben van Heerden, Marcel Theunissen, Ben-Jason Dixon, Keke Morabe. Replacements: Joseph Dweba, Leon Lyons, Neethling Fouche, Adre Smith, Willie Engelbrecht, Louw Nel, Herschel Jantjies, Suleiman Hartzenberg.

Glasgow Warriors: Josh McKay; Sebastian Cancelliere, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu (capt), Kyle Rowe; Adam Hastings, George Horne; Jamie Bhatti, Johnny Matthews, Sam Talakai, Gregor Brown, Richie Gray, Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey. Replacements: Gregor Hiddleston, Rory Sutherland, Zander Fagerson, Scott Cummings, Max Williamson, Henco Venter, Jamie Dobie, Tom Jordan.

Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU).

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