'Respect that': Edinburgh respond to Jamie Ritchie's Glasgow Warriors switch

News broke this week that the Scotland flanker is set to cut short his time in France with Perpignan and join Glasgow Warriors in the summer.

Ritchie, 29, spent more than a decade with Edinburgh whom he joined straight from school and went on to captain. He announced in February last year that he would be leaving at the end of the 2024-25 campaign to sign for Perpignan, describing it as an “incredibly hard decision”.

Edinburgh tried hard to keep him but the player was keen to test himself in a different league. It has been a challenging season for Perpignan who have been battling near the bottom of the Top 14 and are set to be involved in a relegation play-off next month but Ritchie has performed well and has captained the side on a number of occasions.

He was expected to remain in France for at least another season but has decided to return to Scottish rugby - but to Glasgow, not Edinburgh.

‘We respect that’

“No, there was no discussion on him coming back to Edinburgh that I'm aware of,” Everitt said. “But yes, it's great that he can come home for the reasons that he's mentioned in the media: that's his family, and family is important. A guy needs that behind him to be able to perform well.

“Jamie served the club really well over the years that he was here. He might feel that he needs a new chapter and we respect that. But most importantly, rugby is important but your family has to come first.”

Ritchie made a try-scoring return to the Scotland team in the Six Nations win over England in February but fractured his shinbone in the Calcutta Cup match at Murrayfield. He was out for 10 weeks but made his comeback from injury last weekend in Perpignan’s home defeat by La Rochelle.

Perpigan, who are second bottom in the French top division, face Clermont Auvergne away on Saturday with four rounds remaining of the regular season.