Glasgow Warriors will have both of Scotland’s lead scrum-halves for the next two seasons at least with Ali Price agreeing to a new deal until at least the summer of 2022.
Price, with 28 caps for Scotland, the last as a replacement in the Rugby World Cup opener against Ireland, has 85 appearances for Glasgow and 17 tries, and was man of the match in last weekend’s Heineken Champions Cup win over Sale Sharks.
He and clubmate George Horne are expected to vie for the starting No 9 shirt for Scotland when the Six Nations opens next week against Ireland in Dublin. The pair are presently rotated by the Glasgow team management in the role.
Horne signed a two-year extension to his contract last year which will keep him at the club until 2021 at least.
Price came through the Scottish Rugby Academy system and Under-20 rugby and made his debut for Glasgow at Scarlets in 2014.
“I’m very happy to be staying,” he said. “This club has given me a lot – I’ve been here for six seasons and I call the club and city home.
“You see how proud I feel about this club on the field – the excitement and buzz you get from the supporters is brilliant, and I’ve been very fortunate to be in this environment for a while now.
“It’s something I think is very hard to find. You get boys coming into the club that say how great an environment it is, and how much everyone gets on and works with each other.
“That for me makes it easy to commit for another couple of years, when those foundations at the club are so firm. It’s a special club.”
Price spoke with incoming head coach Danny Wilson to confirm what the long-term plans were for the Warriors.
“I met Danny when he started out with Scotland – I’ve spoken to him quite a bit over the last couple of months and I get on with him really well.
“I want to work on my leadership now I’ve got a number of games behind me, so I’ve spoken to Danny about that and the vision for the club moving forward.”
Wilson added: “We’re absolutely thrilled that Ali (Price) has committed his future to the club.
“He’s an outstanding man and player and I’ve enjoyed working with him in the Scotland environment.
“We believe he can continue to develop at Glasgow and this is a further statement of intent as we continue to build our squad for next season and beyond.”