NOGRAY AREAAS GLASGOW ANDSCOTS ACESIGNS NEWDEAL
FAMILY and Glasgow fans were the t wo main reasons Jonny Gray gave for turning down the chance to copy his brother Richie and head for France.
Instead he has signed a new deal to stay at Glasgow Warriors for another two years as the Scottish clubs made more progress in cementing their squads for next season.
With Gray committing his future to the club, Finn Russell, who is moving to Racing 92 in the summer in a mega-bucks deal, has been the only high-profile defection so far with the likes of Ryan Wilson, Fraser Brown and Rob Harley all also understood to be closing in on new contracts that will keep them at Scotstoun.
Nor is it only in the west that contract matters have been high on the agenda at what is traditionally a key time of year for negotiations, with youngster Luke Crosbie and Fijian Olympic gold medalist Viliame Mata the latest to sign deals at Edinburgh – they follow Stuart McInally and
Lewis Carmichael as players who have put pen to paper this week in the east.
Gray made it clear that he had always been open to renewing his commitment to Glasgow, flatly rubbishing a claim that he had been in talks with Bristol about a move there, his emotional ttachment to the city and the club’s fans playing a large role in his thinking.
His importance to the club and country is undeniable. His work rate always impresses, his tackle counts are simply outstanding with 1433 attempts in the 117 club and Test matches Gray has played producing only 30 misses, a 98 per cent completion rate and his coaches speak of an insatiable appetite for finding ways of improving.
“I am very happy at Glasgow, it is a place I love, it is the place I am from and have family and friends.
“I feel when I run out I represent more than just myself,” he said.
“Cambuslang, the club that got me here – you represent them, your family, friends, my Gran.
“It gives me a real buzz to play in front of them and the fans – they are crazy, mental.
“It is great and when you speak to them them, they are just good people. I appreciate everything they do.”
THE last few months have seen a rare stumble in Gray’s seemingly irresistible rise.
They included his first major selection disappointment when he missed out on a spot in the British & Irish Lions squad for last summer’s tour to New Zealand, then had to go for surgery on a long-standing wrist injury, which meant he missed the start of this season, before he lost the Glasgow captaincy to Ryan Wilson.
“This injury was my first major one and I probably struggled at the start, but it was a great time to learn about things, about your body and how you can make strides, about strength and conditioning and physio as well as rugby stuff,” he said.
“I was worried because I didn’t really know what to expect.
“But I sat down with guys who have had major injuries before – like Pete Horne with his knee – and I had Hoggy [Stuart Hogg, the full back, who is a team-mate for club and country and was recovering from shoulder surgery] there every day, which was fun.
“It was good with Hoggy – going out doing one-on-one sessions, a bit of footwork and getting stepped most times by him and realising how to defend that.”
Now that he is back playing and his future is settled he is ready to take his game to the next level.
“I’ve got a lot to learn. The coaches we’ve got here are great because they can sit down and give you one-onones, give advice on what you need to work on.
“You get Dan [McFarland, the Scotland forwards coach] coming in to work on line-out stuff – which might be minor detail – but it’s really important.
“With this injury, I’ve realised there is stuff I can do outside on the training park and at home in terms of stretching and by watching other sports as well.
“It is a great environment to be in and I’m loving being here.”