The Scotsman

Grant and Allan are staying at Scotstoun

- By PATRICK MCPARTLIN

Ryan Grant has extended his stay at Glasgow Warriors until the end of the season, while Alex Allan has signed a new one-year deal at Scotstoun.

Grant, pictured, who rejoined the club on a shortterm deal in September, made 109 appearance­s for Warriors before short stints at Worcester and Edinburgh last year.

The 32-year-old, who has been drafted to Ayr for the 2017/18 season, has been capped 25 times by Scotland and was called up to the British & Irish Lions squad in 2013 as cover for Gethin Jenkins.

He said in September that he was “grateful to be back” at Scotstoun.

Fellow loose-head prop Allan, who has made 70 appearance­s for Glasgow since arriving at the club in 2014 from Edinburgh’s developmen­t squad, has agreed a one-year extension to his contract, tying him to the club until May 2019.

Allan, 25, has enjoyed a run of games under Dave Rennie, appearing 19 times this season, and the Harrogate-born front-row said it was a “nobrainer” to extend his stay.

Speaking to Warriors TV, he said: “It was an easy decision to stay at Glasgow. I’ve really enjoyed the three-anda-half seasons I’ve been at the club and I’m looking forward to another season.

“I was 22 when I first joined and my game has improved massively. I’ve still got a lot of improvemen­ts to make and I feel this is the right environmen­t for me to make those improvemen­ts.” Warriors assistant coach Jonathan Humphreys said: “Alex has played really well this season and he’s great for our environmen­t, so we’re looking forward to going forward together.

“He’s still young and we feel the best is still to come from Alex. He’s a fantastic athlete and can add to the type of game we want to play, so we’re delighted he’s staying.”

On Grant’s decision to extend his stay at Scotstoun, Humphreys added: “Ryan has been at the club a while now and is part of the culture. He’s great with the young props and is scrummagin­g really well. I can’t speak highly enough of him.”

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