Glasgow have announced that Josh Strauss and Gordon Reid will be leaving the club at the end of the season while Edinburgh have confirmed the long-awaited signing of Mark Bennett from the Warriors.
Strauss has done his contract prospects no harm with two strong performances in the Six Nations. He’s the sort of guy they’ll like in France although rumours have him linked to a move to England as well.
Gordon Reid is an interesting one, as a player there or thereabouts for Scotland who has played very well for the Warriors and is highly rated by fans and pundits. Both should not struggle to find clubs (Reid has been linked with London Irish) and join the “out” list of Warrior Nation favourites along with Simone Favaro.
In other contract news from down south, George Ford is leaving Bath but they are bringing in Freddie Burns so the logjam ahead of young Hastings won’t be getting any looser. Signing him up could be the next move for The Toony Pen (the real one) before he hands the reigns over to Dave Rennie, who you think must have been involved in discussions.
Speaking of his move, Bennett said: “A key factor in my decision was that there’s a young squad at Edinburgh, who are going in the right direction and I can feel like I can add to that.
“At 24 I think I could be one of the older boys in the Edinburgh backline, which would be a new experience for me, but one that I’m looking forward to next season.
“I’ve also worked with Duncan Hodge before as part of the Scotland set-up and I like his approach to the game as well, I think he is a very good coach and I’m looking forward to working with him again.
“The club as a whole seems to be heading in the right direction and I’m excited to be joining and contributing to the side’s progression over the next three years.”
He’ll march straight into the starting lineup but who then plays at 12: Burleigh, Dean, Allen, Tofilau, Rasolea? Bennett’s move was hotly debated here in the comments but if you are an Edinburgh fan, surely you will be delighted?