'It's never nice to lose a player like Johnny, he's been brilliant for us'

Former Scotland hooker Johnny Matthews will be playing his rugby in France beyond the end of this season after agreeing to join Top 14 basement side Montauban on a three-year deal.

The 32-year-old rejected a short-term option to stay at Glasgow and has decided to join a raft of senior players leaving the URC high flyers for France.

Having played at a lower level with Sedgley Park in England and Boroughmuir in Scotland, Matthews got his big break when he signed for Glasgow in 2019.

The Liverpudlian establed himself as a firm fans’ favourite in his time at Scotstoun, principally for his incredible try-scoring exploits.

He finished top try scorer with 14 during the 2023/24 campaign when they won the URC title and he has amassed over 50 tries for the club.

Matthews also became the first-ever Warrior to score five tries in one game in 2023, the year that he won both of his Scotland caps – against Romania and Portugal at RWC 2023.

With the emergence of George Hiddleston and other young hookers, Matthews has slipped down the pecking order at the Warriors and has now chosen to take the better offer over the channel despite Montauban’s certain relegation.

“It’s never nice to lose a player like Johnny – he’s been brilliant for us – but as I said, it’s just the evolution of a rugby team. And, you know, it’s just great that we’ve got really good quality young guys coming through,” assistant coach Nigel Carolan told Scotland Rugby News.

“And, look, we wish Johnny all the best. He’s been brilliant for us over the last few years. But it wasn’t so long ago that Johnny was that fringe player. We had Fraser Brown here and we had George Turner here. Then Johnny got his time as a frontrunner and it’s now time for someone else to step up.”

Matthews will be one of nine new arrivals at Montauban in the summer, as the club prepares for life at a lower level.

Principal among the new recruits are Clermont back-row, Lucas Dessaigne, and Waratahs centre Joey Walton, who has featured in all seven matches of the Super Rugby Pacific season.