Rory Lamont is staying with Glasgow though his elder brother and fellow cap, Sean, has opted to join Northampton Saints. The younger Lamont has now signed full-time for Glasgow after having been on a short-term contract.
Glasgow have announced today that no fewer than 11 players have signed new or renewed contracts. Among them is Craig Hamilton from Newcastle Falcons. The Scotland international lock forward, a former Wigtownshire player, will join Glasgow in June for the start of preparations for next season.
Two players from Glasgow Hawks, Colin Shaw and Steve Swindall, also have signed for Glasgow. So has Ben Prescott, the Aberdeen Grammar School FP prop forward. Fergus Thomson, like Rory Lamont, has upgraded to a full-time contract. The hooker had been on an apprentice contract.
Three other Scotland caps, Graeme Morrison, Graeme Beveridge, and Andrew Henderson, have signed new contracts with Glasgow. So have Scott Lawson and Calvin Howarth, who reach the 400-point landmark in Glasgow's victory against Cardiff on Friday.
"We're delighted to have signed experienced players together with some young Scots who have been coming through the system," Hugh Campbell, Glasgow's head coach, said today.
Rory Lamont has had a meteoric rise since he arrived in Glasgow last summer. Initially, he joined Glasgow Hawks in the hope of catching the attention of the professional team's coaches, but he achieved that far more quickly that he could have expected. In September he accepted a short-term contract to join his brother, Sean, in the Glasgow squad.
Earlier this month Rory also joined his brother in the national XV. When they played against Wales they became the nineteenth set of brothers to appear together for Scotland, and Rory also joined the ranks of those who have scored a debut try in international rugby.
Hamilton, while with Wigtownshire, came through the Glasgow age-grade system, and after he went to Newcastle University and joined Falcons he played for Scotland in the 2000 SANZAR under-21 tournament in New Zealand. He was capped by Scotland as a substitute in the second Test against Australia during the Down Under tour last year.
Shaw, Swindall, and Thomson are more recent Scotland under-21 international players. Their age-grade honours included the victory against England in the 2003 IRB Under 21 World Championship match at Newbury.
Thomson first played for Glasgow more than two years ago, when he appeared as a 19-year-old replacement in the Heineken Cup match against Sale Sharks in January 2003. At that time the hooker was with West Of Scotland club. He joined Hawks last season and was enlisted with Glasgow on an apprentice contract last summer. He made his Celtic League debut as a replacement in the Hughenden victory against The Borders in November 2004.
Prescott, Shaw, and Swindall, though not contracted, have had plenty of Celtic League experience this season. Swindall has started as blind-side flanker in Glasgow’s past five matches, Shaw has been full back in five of Glasgow’s nine matches since mid-December, and Prescott was preferred to the contracted Andrew Kelly as replacement prop for the Celtic League match against Cardiff on Friday.