Richie Vernon extends Glasgow stay after signing one-year deal

Scotland international Richie Vernon has extended his stay with the Glasgow Warriors after signing a new one-year deal with the Scottish club.

Vernon started his professional rugby career with the Scottish Borders Rugby which was disbanded in 2007 following which he switched to Glasgow for a four-year contract.

In 2011, the Scotland centre joined Sale Sharks where he made 48 appearances for the club and then returned back to Glasgow for the 2013/14 season. Overall, he has played 86 matches for Glasgow scoring 25 points in it.

The 28-year-old made his Scotland debut in 2009 and has 24 caps with his last appearance coming in the Rugby World Cup quarter-final clash with Australia.

Vernon stated that the association with Glasgow allows him to be part of the Scotland set-up and further wants to make the club succeed in all facets of the game going forward.

"We've had a bit of success and we're a team moving in the right direction and trying to get better, so it'll be great to be a part of that for another year," said Vernon.

"We've all got the same mindset to improve and make Glasgow Warriors one of the best clubs in Europe.

"One of my goals is to get back involved in the Scotland set-up and I believe I have the best chance of doing that at Glasgow."

Vernon suffered a shoulder injury in November during the European Champions Cup encounter against Northampton which ruled him out of the Six Nations tournament as well.

Glasgow head coach Gregor Townsend confirmed that Vernon is closing on full fitness and will soon return to action.

"We're delighted Richie has signed with us for another 12 months and also that he's nearing a return to full fitness," said Townsend, with champions Glasgow taking on Connacht in Saturday's Pro12 play-off semi-final.

"He played a lot of games for us on our way to winning the Pro12 last season and we're looking forward to him being available to play again and competing for a place in the team."