Dumfries and Galloway rugby star seals move back to Scotland with Glasgow Warriors

Alex Craig’s move to Scotstoun will reunite him with former Stewartry Shark Stafford McDowall.

A Stewartry rugby star will play his club rugby back in Scotland next season.

And Alex Craig’s move to Glasgow Warriors will reunite him with former Stewartry Shark Stafford McDowall.

Craig, from Castle Douglas, will move ro Scotstoun after spending the past two years at Welsh BKT United Rugby Championship side Scarlets.

The 27-year-old, who has six caps for Scotland, told the Glasgow Warriors website: “For me, coming back home is a massive opportunity and I’m looking forward to getting stuck in.

“I’m from Castle Douglas, and I’ve always kept a close eye on how Glasgow were doing as I supported the club when growing up. To see the club go from strength to strength in recent seasons has been so impressive, and they just keep getting better and better as a team.

“I know quite a lot of the boys from U20s and from Scotland duty; I grew up playing minis with Stafford too, his dad was my first rugby coach and we played together from when we were seven until about 14 or 15.

“Stafford’s probably the one I spoke to the most when making the decision to move up here, but everyone I’ve spoken to has had nothing but good things to say about the club.

“I like to get myself involved in the game as much as I can, whether that’s with ball in hand or being physical in defence. I just want to put my best foot forward, work hard and earn the respect of my team-mates and coaches first and foremost – it’s going to be exciting and I’m looking forward to getting started.”

Craig, who plays in the second row, came through the ranks at Stewartry and Dumfries Saints. After impressing for Hartpury University, he joined Gloucester in 2019 and made 49 appearances before his switch to Scarlets two years ago.

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His first season in Llanelli saw him voted the club’s players’ player of the season.

He has played for Scotland at age group level and his most recent appearance for the senior side was against Australia last year.

Warriors head coach, Franco Smith, said: “Alex is someone who we’ve been keeping an eye on for a while, consistently impressing with his performances for the Scarlets over the last couple of seasons.

“He is a dynamic carrier with ball in hand, whilst his statistics underline his physicality and willingness to work hard in defence.

“We know that to be a competitive team across both the BKT URC and Investec Champions Cup that we first must have a competitive squad, and we look forward to welcoming Alex to Scotstoun this summer.”