SCOTLAND centre Alex Dunbar has signed a one-year contract with French Top 14 side Brive. The 29-year-old has played over 100 games for Glasgow Warriors since making his debut for the club during the 2009-10 season, and has earned 31 caps for Scotland, most recently during the 2018 Autumn Tests versus Wales, Fiji and Argentina. But he has generally struggled for fitness and form during the last two seasons, falling behind Huw Jones, Sam Johnson, Nick Grigg, Pete Horne and Stafford McDowall in the midfield pecking order for both club and country.
It emerged in January that he wouldn’t be offered a new contract with Glasgow Warriors this summer, and he headed to Newcastle Falcons on loan for the final few months of last season, but managed only two Gallagher Premiership appearances as the Kingston Park club stumbled out of the top flight of English club rugby.
He was not included in Gregor Townsend’s World Cup training squad which was elected in early May.
Dunbar’s new club, Brive, were promoted into the Top 14 of French rugby last season. “Alex was a major asset to Glasgow and the Scotland team for several years,” said Brive head coach Jeremy Davidson. “He will bring to the club all his experience at the international level to evolve our young line of three-quarters.”
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I really hope he can rediscover his fitness and as importantly his form/mojo.
An outstanding player at his best, I remember reading he was at one point the quickest in the Scotland Squad, no mean feat for someone his size.
Hard to believe that we are unlikely to see him, Mark Bennett, Matt Scott and possibly Huw Jones at WC19.
As a small nation we need such talent firing on all cylinders.
Are we doing something wrong?