Glasgow Warriors set to confirm Rory Sutherland signing

Glasgow Warriors are poised to announce that they have signed Scotland and Lions prop Rory Sutherland on a two-year when his short-term deal with Oyonnax runs out at the end of the season.

Loosehead Sutherland, 31, signed for Top 14 new boys Oyonnax on a deal until July after Scotland’s World Cup campaign ended in October, but he has faced a tough baptism.

The Hawick native has been on the losing side in seven of the nine games he has played for Joe El-Abd’s side, who are only two points clear of Montpellier at the foot of the Top 14 table midway through the season.

He made his name with Edinburgh, making 99 appearances, but has clocked up the miles since leaving the Scottish capital to join Worcester Warriors while he was on the Lions tour of South Africa in 2021.

But he found himself unemployed after playing 14 games when the Warriors were liquidated in October 2022, ending last season with Ulster, who signed Springbok star Steven Kitshoff for this season.

He said the summer: “It’s quite a hard thing to explain. I feel like I’ve dragged my family through the dirt with it. It was a really hard time just not knowing what was going to happen week to week, and even day to day as well.”

Sutherland was linked with a return to Edinburgh when he was a free agent and even spoke to Glasgow before settling on a move to Belfast, but the Scotstoun’s outfits patience has finally been rewarded, and they have got their man.