The 25-year-old has represented England at every age-group level up to U21s but is also Scottish qualified through his Glaswegian father Paul.

A product of the Leicester Tigers academy who has also played provincial rugby in New Zealand with Taranaki, the lock forward joined Saracens five years ago and quickly established himself as a regular member of their squad. He has made close to 100 appearances for the club.

Head coach Sean Lineen, said: "I'm delighted with the great support I've had from Chief Executive Kenny Baillie and Scottish Rugby to secure the services of such a quality individual.

"He's a very mobile, modern-day lock and is incredibly hungry. You can see his ambition when you speak to him and I applaud his attitude.

"Brendan Venter [Saracens director of rugby] was very accommodating - the situation works for both clubs. They're very ambitious and Tom [Ryder] needs game time while we get a quality lock, desperate to force his way back into regular rugby.

"At present this is a loan arrangement to bolster our squad as we seek to match and surpass our achievements last season, which will ask a lot of an already young squad."

Speaking after his first training session at the Scotstoun Sports Campus, Tom Ryder said: "Glasgow had a great season last year so I'm delighted to get the opportunity to be part of a fantastic squad and train in world-class facilities.

"I pride myself on being a physical and ball-carrying lock and am looking forward to bringing my experience to Glasgow and helping them match and better their successes last season."