1
Scotland's Alex Craig heading to Scarlets exit and back to roots
By Neil Fissler
Scotland lock Alex Craig is heading towards the Scarlets exit door as he edges closer to joining Glasgow Warriors in a move that will see him play North of the Border for the first time in his career.
The Warriors have lined up an immediate deal for Dumfries-born Craig, 27, after it was announced that Richie Gray would be leaving Scotstoun at the end of November to pursue a playing opportunity abroad.
Fissler Confidential revealed last Saturday that 6'10 Gray is heading to Japan, where Steve Hansen’s Toyota Verblitz are in pole position to sign in time for the new Japan Rugby League One campaign.
Warriors boss Franco Smith, who has seen his side win two of their three URC games this season and are in second place, four points behind leaders Leinster, has wasted no time finding a replacement.
Craig, who stands at 6'6, started his career at Hartpury College in the BUCS Super League before signing his first professional contract with Gloucester in February 2019.
After being promoted to the senior side the following season, he made a total of 50 appearances for the Cherry and Whites and joined the Scarlets in June 2023.
He has played 22 games for Dwayne Peel’s side and played in the opening three games of this URC season, drawing in Benetton and then losing at home to Cardiff and Connacht.
Craig, whose ball-carrying since joining the Scarlets has had fans in South Wales raving, was one of the forgotten men in Scottish rugby before being recalled by Gregor Townsend last summer.
His appearances against the USA and Chile took his tally of caps to four, and playing for Glasgow will have him firmly on Townsend's radar.
RugbyPass understands that Craig has agreed to the move and is just waiting for the Scarlets and the Warriors to reach an agreement over the terms of his exit before the move is sealed.
Trending on RugbyPass
2
NZ age of dominance is all but over
3
Can New Zealand beat the world's best without Barrett at 10?
4
14 All Blacks released to play quarter-finals
5
Latest Comments
The next guy is probably on that list. The "too young" guys are all 23+, which is 2 years older than dc was when he got an ab start. Being that young did him no harm. He scored 20 against wales on debut. But dc was also a freak player and a few years into the good super rugby, when SA was involved, so not such a step up. A tough northern tour is not their time. Hopefully next year's super rugby will see one of them put their hand up.
Go to commentsBunting is delusional. The job is clearly too big for him. The Black Ferns have shown none to negative, "growth", as a team. Individuals may have progressed, true, but the team is a mess. They have been fully professional since 2022 but play like amateurs. We are back to 2021 NH tour vibes (onfield that is).
The granting of an historical 4 year full contract to Kennedy Tukuafu remains Bunting's most puzzling decision. At 26, she had offered little of the on-field quality deserving of such status. Her relegation v FRA was imminent imo & Bunting gets kudos for this decision. I would've tossed her completely, myself. In all tests this tour, she has been ineffective & doesn’t seem to have a point of difference (required of a loosie). Jackaling, high tackle rate, clean, carry, ???
Another puzzling selection is Bunting continuing to use our best 6 Alana Bremner 178cm & 77kg at lock in place of our best lock, Chelsea Bremner, 181cm & 88kg. Maia Roos at 179cm & 80kg needs a big body at her side. Neither she nor Alana are power locks.
Going forward I'd reshuffle the back 5 as follows:
4 Roos 5 Chelsea 6 Alana 7 Sae 8 Mikaele-Tuu with Olsen Baker bench impact. Alana is an option to cover lock, if required. I'd also be tempted to use a 6/2 split depending on the opposition.
One issue I have with this selection is that the same core backline that leaked a million tries from set play v ENG is taking the field. Sure, FRA got thrashed by CAN, but it's still FRA, quite capable of stepping up & blasting us. What will be different? Backfield comms? Midfield reads? ?? Scary stuff.
Go to comments