Scotland centre Huw Jones revealed he was “tempted” by the prospect of a move to France but he ultimately felt that remaining with buoyant Glasgow was the right decision for his career overall.
The on-form 30-year-old was the subject of recent interest from Top 14 side Montpellier and was also linked with Bayonne.
However, he ended speculation about his future last week by signing a new two-year deal to commit his future to Warriors until 2026.
Jones, whose partner is expecting a baby at the start of April, admitted the prospect of following Scotland colleagues Blair Kinghorn and Ben White to France did hold some appeal.
“I’ve said in the past that I’d be open to a move to France, so, yeah, it was certainly tempting,” he said, speaking from the Scotland camp ahead of Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations match away to Italy.
“Like you do with all big decisions, you’ve got to weigh up the pros and cons and all that and I think when it came down to it, it was a rugby decision.
“I thought it would be a shame to pass up what’s happening at Glasgow at the moment. I think since (head coach) Franco (Smith) came in, since I came back to the club (from Harlequins in 2022), I’ve seen a real growth in the squad.
“The way we train, the way we play, I think we’re getting better and better. I think we’ve got a real momentum at the moment and I want to stay part of that.
“We’ve obviously got a baby on the way in the next couple of weeks, we’re pretty settled in Glasgow, we’ve got loads of friends around and my family live just outside Edinburgh, so it’s nice to be staying put.”
Jones will be without his trusty centre partner Sione Tuipulotu for the remainder of the Six Nations after his Glasgow team-mate sustained a knee injury in the win over England a week past Saturday.
Bath’s Cam Redpath is expected to slot in alongside Jones in Rome, although Glasgow’s Stafford McDowall and Northampton’s Rory Hutchinson are other contenders.
“I think we’ve got great depth throughout the squad but definitely at centre,” said Jones.
“I’m gutted for my mate (Sione), but Cam, Hutch and Staff are all really good players. They’ve all played well this season and I think we’re blessed in that position right now.
“Losing Sione isn’t great but with the guys who are able to step up, we can have confidence in them.”
Scotland have won two of their opening three championship matches but their controversial home defeat by France – when they were denied what appeared to be a legitimate late match-winning try – has left them with only a slim chance of catching leaders Ireland over the course of the last two matches.
A rare second-place finish still appears to be well within their grasp, however.
“If Ireland take it out of our hands (by beating England on Saturday), so be it,” said Jones. “We’ve got to focus on what we can control and this weekend we’ve got a massive game, Italy away. They’ll be up for it, they’ve improved.
“Last season was a close game against them and we were at home.
“They’re a threat to what we want to achieve so we’ve got to go there with the mindset of putting together our best performance of the championship so far.
“Against Wales, we just had a good first half and probably the last five minutes. France, again, we probably could have managed it better.
“England was a positive step forward but I think we should be looking to have our best performance now because we’re going to need it.”
'World-class' Scotland will provide Wallabies' sternest test – Skelton
Australia will face their sternest test to date when they continue their autumn tour against a "world-class" Scotland team at Murrayfield on Sunday.
That is the view of forward Will Skelton, who believes the Wallabies' victories in England and Wales have brought a new energy and confidence to their camp.
Having crashed out in the pool stage at last year's World Cup in France before finishing last in the Rugby Championship, Australia have looked a team reborn in recent weeks.
A first victory at Twickenham since 2015 and a 52-20 rout of Wales – their biggest-ever away win in matches between the teams – have made it an excellent tour to date for Joe Schmidt's side.
But La Rochelle lock Skelton feels their toughest assignment is to come this week, saying: "We've won two games, we're very aware of that.
"The Test against Scotland is going to be the hardest one yet. We're excited about this weekend and we're looking forward to ripping into it.
"Physically they're up there with the top five in the world. I think set-piece wise they're really strong.
"You've got a guy like Finn Russell who's a maestro at the back there. I think it's going be a close one and we'll be up for it.
"There's some class players in the Scottish team and, when they're at it they're world-class, so we're going to have to be on top of our game."
Wales must 'show courage and front up' against South Africa, says Gatland
Warren Gatland has urged Wales to "show real courage and front up" in their final Autumn Nations clash against South Africa.
Gatland's side bring the curtain down on a disappointing year when they welcome the reigning world champions to the Principality Stadium on Saturday.
Wales have lost an unprecedented 11 straight Tests, and could go an entire calendar year without tasting success for the first time since 1937.
Gatland has made four changes from last weekend's 52-20 defeat to Australia, with Sam Costelow, Rio Dyer, Christ Tshiunza and Taine Plumtree all coming into the starting XV.
Gareth Anscombe, Aaron Wainwright and Cameron Winnett drop out of the squad, while Adam Beard misses out through injury.
And Gatland wants his players to demonstrate fighting spirit against the Springboks.
"Last week's result hurts, and we are just as disappointed by it as the fans," he told reporters during his pre-match press conference.
"Our focus now is on training and preparing well for our final game of this Autumn Nations Series.
"There were good elements that we can definitely build on going into Saturday, but we have to improve our accuracy.
"We know what a quality side South Africa are and the physicality they bring. This week, we need to show real courage and front up against the world champions."
'Playing for England is the Mecca' according to Itoje amid global breakaway talk
Maro Itoje has reaffirmed his commitment to England amid talks of a proposed global breakaway league.
Steve Borthwick’s side are looking to end their five-match losing run when they face Japan in their final match of the autumn series on Sunday.
But there is fear that Borthwick could lose many of his players to the new league that reportedly are offering 40 £1m-a-season contracts for marquee players and more periods of rests for the players.
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) only select players for the national team from English clubs, meaning any player joining the breakaway league would jeopardise their Test career.
But Itoje has insisted that playing for England is the pinnacle for him and his teammates.
"I don't really know any of the details of it as yet, but wearing this rose is extremely important to me and my teammates," said Itoje.
"Playing for England is the Mecca."
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