Huwipulotu

Outs

Huw Jones

A huge loss. Huw Jones is an icon of both Glasgow Warriors and Scottish rugby. He forms half the name of the Huwipulotu partnership, which I hold dear to my heart. The depth in the centres will be tested this season. Stafford McDowall is the clear replacement, who arguably performed better than Huw last season, although Huw was battling injuries. Hopefully Huw will find form at Toulon this season and keep performing for Scotland. I’m not ready to say goodbye to one of my favourite players ever yet.

Players such as Johnny Ventisei, Duncan Munn and potentially new signing Bayley Kuenzle will need to step up to fill the position when McDowall is unavailable.

Jamie Bhatti

A great option for the Warriors over the years, many fans will be sad to see the Wombat go. However, loosehead is a position where the Warriors do have good depth. Nathan McBeth should be looking to start with British Lion Rory Sutherland, and Patrick Schicklerling, who impressed greatly at the end of last season, will battle for the bench spot.

Bhatti is off to re-join Bath, who will be looking to challenge for the Premiership and in Europe again this season.

Johnny Matthews

A modern club legend.

The Scouser came from nowhere to become a real cult figure at the Warriors. Loved by all fans for his ridiculous try-scoring abilities. While some may argue he benefitted from one of the best mauls in club rugby, he also scored many tries where he did a lot more than just sit at the back of a maul. 53 tries in 112 matches puts him third in the all-time top try-scoring list, ahead of even the great Tommy Seymour.

Whilst he will no doubt be missed, hooker is another position of great depth for the Warriors. Gregor Hiddleston is the outright starting choice, and could be for Scotland too. Seb Stephen looks to be his backup, with Tavi Tuipulotu, Gus Fraser and Joe Roberts behind him. All young players with lots of potential.

Matthews is off to join freshly relegated Montauban in the ProD2, where there’s no doubt his try-scoring antics will help the club battle for promotion back to the Top14.

Also, he told me he liked my quarter zip once. Legend.

Grant Stewart

Another hooker, and another player on this list with two separate stints at the Warriors. Having only managed 25 starts in eight seasons at the club, Grant often found himself lower down in the pecking order behind the likes of Fraser Brown, George Turner, Johnny Matthews and Gregor Hiddleston. However, he always delivered when asked upon and will be missed as a depth option.

His best moment in a Warriors shirt came in the 2019 Pro14 final, where it looked like his try late on in the game with the Warriors a man up could spur them on to a comeback win.

Jack Dempsey

Massive loss.

It will be hard to fill the gap left by Jack Dempsey. There is no one in the squad who can match his carrying. (Unless new signing Ruwald Van Der Merwe turns out to be the signing of the season). Demmo was a star player for the Warriors in his five seasons at the club. The number of times he was up for man of the match in big games is a testament to how important he was for so many big results.

I still believe his try should not have been ruled out in the 2024 URC final. An absolutely glorious try where he ran in from halfway late in the game. At 32, he was definitely on the older end of the squad, but you feel he could keep delivering for a couple more seasons at least. Hopefully he can stay in Scotland’s plans while out in Japan and feature at the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

Sione Vailanu

Another fan favourite. Sione will be missed at Scotstoun. However, since his first season in 2022/23, he struggled for game time with injuries and being further back in the pecking order. He played more minutes for the Warriors in that first season than he did in his other 3 seasons combined. Losing him at the same time as Dempsey is a blow and will require players like Matt Fagerson and new signing Ruwald to step up at number 8.

Adam Hastings

Severely underrated in both of his spells at the Warriors. Hastings is just as big of a loss as Dempsey in my eyes. Dan Lancaster improved a lot last season; however, at his best, he wasn’t as good as Hasto. Hastings had the flair, game management, kicking, running and distribution skills to unlock the best out of the Warriors’ attack. Sure, his defence could be iffy at times, but never bad enough to be the sole reason for a loss. Also, getting a yellow for ruffling Sam Prendergast’s hair is iconic.

Replacing him will be hard this season. Duncy Weir retired mid-season last season, and Dan Lancaster is the only fly-half with a decent amount of game time going into this season. Charlie Savala spent the entire of last season injured; he was good a couple of seasons ago at Edinburgh and made just 10 appearances for Saints in the Prem and Europe in two seasons. So it’s hard to say what impact he will have this season. The other option, Matthew Urwin, has just four minutes under his belt for the Warriors, a concern.

At least one of those three will need to step up big time, or else Hastings’ departure will hurt the most.

Ins

Jamie Ritchie

Brilliant signing. The former Scotland captain will be a great addition to the Warriors back row. His ability to play both blindside and openside makes him a very useful player to have, and if he gets into good form, he will be a standout player. His signing allows the Warriors to have a back row of Ritchie, Darge and Fagerson, which would be one of the best in Europe still.

Ruwald Van Der Merwe

Less is known about the big South African, but from the highlights I’ve seen, Warriors fans can expect a big, fast, dynamic ball carrier. His job will be to fill the gaps left by Vailanu and Dempsey, and hopefully he will deliver. He also has the ability to slot in at blindside. He also brings leadership experience, having captained the Pumas to an 11-game win streak in the 2025 SA Cup, which included winning the title.

Bayley Kuenzle

Potential to be a very handy signing. Kuenzle can play across the backline having started on both wings, both centres and even at fly half during his career in Australia. He has 68 Super Rugby caps under his belt and 11 tries. He is an imposing figure with good ball skills who will be able to slot in and deliver when needed, particularly when Sione Tuipulotu and Stafford McDowall are being rested or away with Scotland.

Ruaraidh Hart

Ruaraidh rejoins the Warriors after leaving in 2024 to focus on University. He played for Stirling County during this time. He only made one appearance for the Warriors in 2024, a 4-minute cameo off the bench in a big win over the Dragons, so hopefully we will see more of him. He represented the Scotland Club XV against the Ireland Club XV earlier in 2026. He strengthens the depth of the second row at Glasgow which was severely tested last season following a number of injuries. With all the options fit, he may struggle for game time; however, should injuries across the second row and back row occur again, it will be good to have another regular option to call upon.