Johnny Matthews set to join Glasgow Warriors exodus but one Springbok transfer is 'dead'

The hooker’s contract expires at the end of the season and he is understood to be in talks with clubs in France.

Glasgow have already confirmed that Adam Hastings, Huw Jones, Jack Dempsey and Jamie Bhatti will all be leaving in June. Now Matthews, 32, looks poised to join them.

Capped twice by Scotland, Matthews has been a talismanic figure for the Warriors since joining from Boroughmuir in 2020-21. A prolific try-scorer, he this season became the third player in the club’s history to reach the 50-try milestone, following on from DTH van der Merwe and George Horne.

Reports in France have linked Matthews with Montauban, who are currently bottom of the Top 14, but The Scotsman understands he has also been in talks with Pro D2 clubs.

No deal for Kriel

The Warriors exodus is a cause for concern for supporters, particularly after the club lost a clutch of established regulars at the end of the 2024-25 campaign, including Tom Jordan, Jack Mann, Henco Venter and Sebastián Cancelliere.

Despite the departures, Glasgow continue to challenge for honours under Franco Smith who led them to the United Rugby Championship title in 2024. They currently top the URC standings with four rounds remaining of the regular season. They are also into the last 16 of the Investec Champions Cup and host the Bulls at Scotstoun this Saturday.

Glasgow are actively looking to recruit for next season and are expected to announce a signing this week but one player who will not be joining is the Bulls utility back David Kriel. Kriel was on the Warriors’ radar but no deal was concluded.

“Yes, that one's dead,” confirmed Glasgow assistant coach Scott Forrest. “I think there were some conversations going on. Probably there's been quite a few conversations, as there always is when you sound out players.

“Everyone knows we've got guys moving on at the end of the season, so we're always looking at where do we need to strengthen.”

Kriel could now move to La Rochelle.

Glasgow, under Smith, continue to develop their own talent and the coach has given debuts to centre Johnny Ventisei and wing Fergus Watson over the past two weeks but they will look to also recruit some experience to replace those who are leaving.

Hastings and Jones are both heading to France to join Montpellier and Toulon, respectively, while Bhatti has agreed a move to Bath and Dempsey looks poised to move to Japan.

The Bulls, meanwhile, have selected a strong squad to come to Europe. The South African side, who the Warriors defeated in the 2024 URC final, have named 14 Springboks in their 33-man touring party, including Handre Pollard, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie, Willie le Roux, Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar and Elrigh Louw.

Forrest expects a massively physical encounter. “We always talk about their power game,” he said. “We know their set-piece is really strong. I think when they get on the front foot and the forwards start to use that power game, we know that's where they get success. But obviously, when the game becomes unstructured, they've got world-class backs as well, and I think that's where they really come into play.”

Glasgow have registered three more players for their Champions Cup squad: Ventisei, stand-off/centre Charlie Savala, who has been injured since joining the club in the summer from Northampton, and young scrum-half Callum Reidy.