Edinburgh have signed former Glasgow tighthead prop D’Arcy Rae on a one-season deal. The 28-year-old, who spent eight years at Scotstoun from 2013 before moving to Bath, had been on a short-term contract with French club Montpellier after being released by the English Premiership side at the end of last season.
Capped once by Scotland in a 2019 match against Ireland, Rae is now in line to make his Edinburgh debut against Bath when the teams meet in Friday’s pre-season friendly at Hive Stadium. “I’m really happy to have signed with Edinburgh Rugby,” he said in a media release from the capital club. “It’s great to be back in Scotland and I’m excited for a fresh challenge, with the new URC campaign just around the corner.
“The league has developed significantly since leaving Glasgow and with the addition of four massive South African sides to the competition, it’s definitely a new and improved Championship that I want to test myself in.
“Edinburgh has a really strong squad and we have plenty of competition across the pack. I’m really eager to prove myself to both the club and the Edinburgh supporters in the coming months.
“To go against Bath this Friday night would be a brilliant experience. It’s my old club where I’ve made a lot of brilliant memories and connections – rugby is a small world and you couldn’t write that Bath would potentially be my first match in Edinburgh colours!”
Edinburgh’s senior coach Sean Everitt said: “We’re pleased to welcome D’Arcy [Rae] to the club. He brings plenty of experience to the front-row group and he’ll be able to hit the ground running straight away as we prepare for Bath on Friday night and then our BKT United Rugby Championship opener away to Dragons.
“D’Arcy is a Scotland internationalist who has played a lot of rugby at the top level for both Glasgow and Bath in recent seasons. We’re really pleased with our front-row options on both sides of the scrum and that competition will only help improve our pack.”
Meanwhile, Pete Murchie, the Warriors assistant coach, has said it was inevitable that Glasgow hooker Johnny Matthews would score on his Scotland debut. The 30-year-old had only just come off the bench when he got on the scoresheet in Saturday’s 84-0 win against Romania, enhancing a reputation as a finisher that began when he was a club player with Boroughmuir and has kept growing during his time at Scotstoun.
Having been head coach at Ayr while Matthews was at the Meggetland club, Murchie has been well aware for some time about the threat posed by the Liverpool-born player. “He was always going to score, wasn’t he?,” Murchie said. “He’s got the full box of tricks: a few rumble overs and a few running half the length of the pitch.
“I used to coach against him in the Premiership and the whole plan was basically ‘Stop Johnny Matthews’. It’s a gift to be able to score that many tries, whether it’s off the back of the maul or running support lines.
“Finding a way to the line is a massive strength of his and it doesn’t just happen by accident. It’s something he’s developed over so many years. It’s great that he’s been able to keep doing it every time he’s moved up a level in his career.”
As Matthews was a late replacement for the injured Stuart McInally, it is unlikely that he will be involved in Scotland’s decisive pool game against Ireland on Saturday night - his Warriors team-mate George Turner and Edinburgh’s Ewan Ashman look set to take the two slots for hookers. Nonetheless, Murchie remains hopeful that a large number of his players will be in the matchday 23, and said he was proud of how all of them have performed thus far.
“When you work with somebody every day or you know someone well - and we spend so much time with the Glasgow players – then naturally you’re rooting for them,” he continued. “We obviously want the Glasgow boys to get an opportunity on the world stage.
“It’s a huge game, probably the biggest in the group stage so far. All the Glasgow boys have acquitted themselves well so far and hopefully as many of them as possible make the squad for the final group game.”
