Glasgow confirm Pete Murchie's departure at end of season

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GLASGOW defence coach Pete Murchie has confirmed that he is leaving Scotstoun at the end of the season. The 39-year-old, who was a Warriors player when they won the PRO12 in 2015,  has yet to reveal his new destination officially. However, it is understood that he will be joining the former Glasgow head coach Dave Rennie at Kobe Steelers in Japan.

"I told the players a couple of weeks ago,” Murchie said earlier today. “Obviously it was a difficult decision, certainly not an easy one. As a player and a coach I've been at Glasgow for a fairly long period of time now, and I love the club and it's been great to have been part of the journey on both sides of it. 

"But it was an opportunity that came up. I think when you go into the coaching world you have to be open to different opportunities. We've got an amazing coaching team here – a small coaching team but an amazing coaching team and backroom staff. You learn an incredible amount every day.

"We've got a great player group. It's certainly developed over these last few years. But sometimes you put yourself into a new, different environment, one that you're not used to, one that you haven't played at, where people don't know you. It can be beneficial.

"And those are the things you have to weigh up. I just felt like it was the right time for me, and it's a big opportunity for my family as well. My son wasn't happy – he's a big Glasgow Warriors supporter. It was a bit of a blow to him. But it will be a big change for us.”

After a playing career that saw him win three Scotland caps as well as making 116 appearances for Glasgow, Murchie started out in coaching in 2017 when he joined Stade Nicois as an assistant. He returned to Scotland to take charge of Ayr and then Ayrshire Bulls, then joined the Warriors staff in 2021.

"I'm still going to be a defence coach,” he continued. “I've done a bit of everything. I've done attack, and backs, I've done defence, I've been a head coach. I think to be able to understand defence, you need to be able to understand attack. And vice versa.

"Sometimes the avenue gets presented and you jump in. I classed myself as a defensive full-back. I wasn’t the quickest. So you have to use other parts of your rugby brain to help you out.

"Being at the back when I was a player meant I could see things unfolding, which helped me. I've always had a big interest in defence, I love coaching defence. That's the area I'm in at the minute and I love it and I want to try and be the best defence coach. And whatever happens in the future will happen." 

Murchie will welcome many of his colleagues from that championship-winning squad back to Scotstoun at the weekend to celebrate the 10th anniversary of that triumph, although the fact that the Warriors have a home URC game against Munster on Friday night will restrict his involvement in the three-day gathering. "The reunion is on Thursday, Friday, Saturday,” he explained.

“Obviously I've got to balance my responsibilities with what I'm doing, so I'll pop up and see them on Friday after the game and I'll see them on Saturday. But I've got a job to do at the same time. It will be good to see everyone – there's a good crew coming. A number are coming from overseas including a fair few coaching staff. It will be good to catch up with faces you haven't seen for a while."

Glasgow also  acknowledged Murchie’s impending departure in a press release that said he was leaving “after accepting an offer to take up a new coaching opportunity overseas”.

Head coach Franco Smith paid tribute to Murchie's contribution, saying: "From the first day I met Pete, it's been a pleasure to get to know him and to work with him day in, day out – he has turned our defensive system into a truly world-class operation. He is a young coach with a great amount of potential, and the opportunity to experience a different coaching and cultural environment will only serve him well in his professional development. We wish Pete and his family well in their move and we look forward to seeing how his development progresses."

Meanwhile, some of Glasgow’s internationals who saw action in Scotland’s defeat by France at the weekend will be rested on Friday, but club captain Kyle Steyn is available to face Munster after injury, and national squad members George Horne, Adam Hastings, Kyle Rowe, Euan Ferrie, Ollie Smith and Jamie Bhatti could also be involved.

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