Glasgow Warriors: Johnny Matthews to exit for Montauban

“He’s got a multi-year deal in France. Something that suits him and his young family.”

Carolan sees the summer exits as part of a natural “evolution” of the United Rugby Championship club’s squad, with younger players progressing from the academy to take their places.

“It’s where he is now in our pecking order over the last couple of months,” he said of Matthews, who has two Scotland caps and has proved a prolific try scorer since arriving in 2019.

“Gregor Hiddleston has stepped up and, more recently, Seb Stephen has stepped up. And, even looking behind that, you’ve Tavi Tuipulotu coming through in the academy, you’ve got Joe Roberts in the academy, who’s going to be poking his head into the senior squad next year as well.”