Rennie: Scots stars will always move on
Scottish rugby fans will have to get used to their star players plying their trade elsewhere in their prime years.
That’s the opinion of outgoing Glasgow coach, Dave Rennie, who, in his three seasons at Scotstoun, had to deal with losing Finn Russell to France and Stuart Hogg to Exeter, where he’ll be joined by Johnny Gray next season.
The Kiwi, who’s taking over as Australia’s head coach, said: “It’s something I accept over here, because it happens in New Zealand as well.
“They have players who get lured over to France and Japan because they can make massive money. Finn, Johnny and Stuart will get miles in excess of what we paid them here.
“That’s why I’ve said before, our job is to find good young guys coming through and try to accelerate their learning. That was the plan around Finn leaving, that’s been the plan around Adam Hastings.
“I think Adam’s going to be an excellent international player. He’s young and still a little green but he’s really competitive and is working hard on developing his skills.
“And maybe Scott Cummings becomes the new Johnny Gray? I think Scott has the potential to be a phenomenal international player.
“So great players have left and you’ve got to find someone to fill the hole. I can’t see that changing. We can’t afford to keep someone like Hoggy and pay him the sort of money Exeter do.
“He deserves that level of money and the advantage you have over here is they can still play for Scotland.
“If you’re a Kiwi and you come over this way, that’s the end of your All Black career.
“I think it’s going to be a constant. In the end there will be some players you just can’t afford to keep and some of them are in highprofile positions.
“Someone like Zander Fagerson (the Glasgow and Scotland tight-head prop) would be on the radar for a big club somewhere in the near future.
“He’s a phenomenal player. He’s only young but his scrummaging’s come a long way. He’s got a big engine, a massive work-rate and his brutality is first-rate.
“He’s got a really good skill set and he’s just going to get better and better. Maybe he’s the next challenge to try to keep in Glasgow and Scotland.”
The silver lining is that, after watching these players develop, fans could welcome them back later in their careers when they become more affordable once more.
Look at Glasgow in recent years, with the likes of Ruaridh Jackson, Niko Matawalu, DTH van der Merwe and Leone Nakarawa all returning home.
“I think it comes down to the culture. All those guys were keen to come back to Glasgow,” said Rennie.
“They loved their time there and they’ve come back and contributed and I think that’s the key.”