Franco Smith finally gets his man as Glasgow Warriors sign Scotland lock

It has taken him a bit longer than anticipated but Franco Smith has finally got his man with the announcement that Alex Craig has agreed a move to join Glasgow Warriors.

Craig, 27, will leave Scarlets at the end of the current campaign and link up with Smith’s side ahead of the 2025-26 season after signing a two-year contract.

The Scotland international second-row was initially linked with Glasgow back in October when it was announced that Richie Gray was leaving the Warriors to take up an opportunity to play in Japan for Toyota Verblitz.

Alex Craig playing for Scotland in the win over Australia in November 2024. | SNS Group / SRU

It was expected that a deal would be thrashed out to allow Craig to move north in mid-season but it never materialised and Smith said later he would be happy to work with the locks already at the club. But the switch has now been agreed and the six-times capped Craig will join a second-row stable at Glasgow that includes fellow Scotland internationals Scott Cummings, Max Williamson and Alex Samuel.

“For me, coming back home is a massive opportunity and I’m looking forward to getting stuck in,” said Craig who revealed that he used Warriors centre Stafford McDowall as a sounding board while making his decision

“I’m from Castle Douglas, and I’ve always kept a close eye on how Glasgow were doing as I supported the club when growing up. To see the club go from strength to strength in recent seasons has been so impressive, and they just keep getting better and better as a team.

“I know quite a lot of the boys from U20s and from Scotland duty; I grew up playing minis with Stafford too, his dad was my first rugby coach and we played together from when we were seven until about 14 or 15. Stafford’s probably the one I spoke to the most when making the decision to move up here, but everyone I’ve spoken to has had nothing but good things to say about the club.

“I like to get myself involved in the game as much as I can, whether that’s with ball in hand or being physical in defence. I just want to put my best foot forward, work hard and earn the respect of my team-mates and coaches first and foremost – it’s going to be exciting and I’m looking forward to getting started.”

Craig has spent his pro career in England and Wales. After impressing for Hartpury University, he signed with Gloucester in February 2019, going on to make 49 appearances across a four-and-a-half year-long association with the Kingsholm outfit.

Scotland's Alex Craig is leaving the Scarlets to join Glasgow Warriors. | SNS Group / SRU

He moved to the Scarlets ahead of the 2023-24 season and his performances in his first campaign in Llanelli saw him voted the club’s players’ player of the season. He has made 40 appearances for the Welsh outfit to date.

He made his Scotland debut against Italy in the 2021 Guinness Six Nations and last played for the national side in the win over Australia in November.

“Alex is someone who we’ve been keeping an eye on for a while, consistently impressing with his performances for the Scarlets over the last couple of seasons,” Glasgow coach Smith told the Warriors website.

“He is a dynamic carrier with ball in hand, whilst his statistics underline his physicality and willingness to work hard in defence.

“We know that to be a competitive team across both the BKT URC and Investec Champions Cup that we first must have a competitive squad, and we look forward to welcoming Alex to Scotstoun this summer.”