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Blow for Scottish rugby as its brightest young star heads for England

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Richie Gray, by some distance the most impressive young star to come out of Scottish rugby for years, is to quit Glasgow Warriors for a lucrative move to English Premiership club Sale Sharks. In what is a significant blow, not just for his Glasgow club but for the development of Scottish professional team rugby as a whole, Gray confirmed today that he had turned down a good offer from the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) to stay in Scotland. The 22-year-old lock forward said he had always wanted to test himself in the English Premiership and it was too good an opportunity to turn down. Gray, who has 16 Scotland caps and who has become one of the most recognisable – and marketable – assets in the Scottish game courtesy of his long, bleach-blond locks, will leave Glasgow at the end of the season. Warriors chief executive, Kenny Baillie, told the club's official website: “We're clearly very disappointed that Richie has decided to move on at the end of the season. “A concerted effort to retain his services has been made across many weeks by a significant number of people within Glasgow Warriors and Scottish Rugby. “The package we presented to him was certainly substantial from both a playing and financial point of view, and Richie has informed us that this was an extremely difficult decision to make. “We'll be sad to see him go, but it's important to emphasise that Glasgow Warriors are far from a one-man team, and Richie's departure will not affect our and Scottish Rugby's commitment to ensuring the club continues to grow on and off the field.” Gray’s departure represents a major setback for Mark Dodson, the SRU’s new chief executive, who has made the professional teams a cornerstone of his plan to revitalise the Scottish game. He made a particular point of stressing the need to create minor celebrities out of Scotland’s best young stars and none were bigger – in every sense – than the 6’ 9” Gray. “There's naturally disappointment on our side because we're committed to keeping our top players in Scotland and Richie comes into that category," Mr Dodson said. “We did everything in our power to hold on to him, but we respect his decision, and look forward to supporting him as a key component of the national team. “I'd like to reassure supporters of the professional teams that we will be doing everything in our power to support our coaches in securing the leading players at both Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh on long-term contracts, because we want to consolidate the clubs' position as competitive, regularly winning entities in the RaboDirect PRO12 and Heineken Cup.” Gray’s departure does, however, represent the latest in a trend of the best Scottish players heading either south to England or over the Channel to France. There is an argument that this may be no bad thing, that the best players are then taken on to a higher level by other clubs in more competitive leagues, that they get the chance to vie for silverware and know what it takes to win at the top end of the sport. Their high wages are also picked up by the bigger English and French clubs and they also leave room for aspiring Scottish players to take their places in the Scottish pro sides. With the equivalent of a full XV of Scottish internationals now playing outside Scotland, it is arguable that there are now three Scottish pro sides: Edinburgh, Glasgow and an exiles XV – which gives Andy Robinson a wider choice when he comes to pick the Scottish national side. But, on the other side, there is the undoubted loss to the Scottish sides when they lose players of such quality as Gray. The Scottish sides have always struggled against their richer European competitors and, unless they start winning consistently, will never be able to give the national side the boost that winning provincial sides in Ireland and Wales do routinely. And, to win consistently, they need to keep their best players. Gray said the decision had been “the hardest call of my career” and vowed to keep impressing during his remaining time as a Warrior. He continued: “I'd like to put on record my thanks to Glasgow Warriors for the support they've given me in all aspects of my life as a professional rugby player. “Being a proud Glaswegian, it's been a massive honour to wear the blue and black jersey, and I'm looking forward to enjoying more special days in it before my time here ends. “I was impressed by the efforts that the club and Scottish Rugby made to keep me in Glasgow, and it's without doubt the toughest decision I've ever had to make. “This isn’t about money: I've always been keen to test myself in England, and I feel this is a good opportunity to do so.”

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