Leone Nakarawa to leave Glasgow Warriors in the summer

Leone Nakarawa has been allowed to leave Glasgow Warriors a year early. Picture: SNS

Rumours regarding a move away from Scotstoun for the Fijian lock have swirled for a few weeks now.

He’s been in excellent form since signing for Glasgow in 2013, including being named the man of the match in the club’s Pro12 Grand Final victory over Munster in 2015.

Though his player will soon depart, Glasgow coach Gregor Townsend remains confident Nakarawa will continue to shine as the Warriors look to continue their strong momentum as they eye a second consecutive Pro12 triumph.

He said: “Leone has attracted a lot of interest from other clubs. During the Rugby World Cup a lot of clubs were interested in signing him and although we were looking to retain him, we have now agreed to let Leone leave a year early.

“Leone has been a fantastic player for the club and has been a pleasure to coach. He has worked hard and developed into one of the best second-rows in the world during the past three years.

“We are looking forward to Leone delivering similar performances as we enter a very exciting run of games at the end of this season.”

Meanwhile, along with the news that Kevin Bryce is to join his brother Glenn in making the switch to Edinburgh in the summer, Glasgow have announced the release of a number of other players.

Prop Jerry Yanuyanutawa, backrowers Tyrone Holmes, Will Bordill and Jason Hill, hookers Shalva Mamukashvili and Fergus Scott, stand-off Gregor Hunter and prop Javan Sebastian will also be leaving the club.

Townsend said: “We’d like to thank all those who are leaving us at the end of the season for the contributions they’ve made to the club.

“They have all worked hard to improve the club and we wish them well in the next stage of their careers.

“Our supporters will get the chance to acknowledge these players efforts as Warriors at our final regular season home match against Zebre on Friday night.”

DOWNLOAD THE SCOTSMAN APP ON ITUNES OR GOOGLE PLAY