Glasgow Warriors sign veteran Australian prop Talakai

Glasgow have completed the signing of the 32-year-old Australian prop Sam Talakai in a move that is sure to prompt further questions over how the Scottish Rugby Union is managing the twin challenges of its well-publicised financial issues and a crisis of opportunity for the country’s best young players.
While Talakai’s vast experience — he has made 100 Super Rugby appearances as well as winning a single Wallabies cap two years ago under Dave Rennie — will prove valuable during those pinch points in the season when Zander Fagerson and Murphy Walker are away with Scotland, his arrival plunges the likes of Fin Richardson, Callum Norrie and Jake Shearer even further down the Scotstoun tight-head pecking order.
The SRU has publicly committed to creating more scope for emerging talent to progress as it tackles a second consecutive year of annual losses in excess of £10 million.
The budgets of the country’s two professional teams, the Warriors and Edinburgh, have increased dramatically in recent times and have been ring fenced for the coming campaign amid cost-cutting elsewhere at Murrayfield.
The signing of Talakai — who turns 33 at the start of next month — will draw further attention to the lack of a performance director to oversee long-term succession planning and talent depth from a national perspective. Although it was confirmed as far back as last December that Jim Mallinder, who previously held the role, would step down this summer, his successor has yet to be announced.
Having become overly reliant on the exceptional Fagerson at the business end of the past two seasons, Franco Smith, the Glasgow head coach, had already brought in the Namibian Patrick Schickerling and the Scots-qualified Richardson, both from Exeter Chiefs. Two Argentinian international tight-heads, Lucio Sordoni and Enrique Pieretto, moved on at the end of last season, as well as the former Scotland front-rower Oli Kebble.
Smith can point to a strong track record in blooding young Scots, particularly in the pack, with the likes of Max Williamson, Alex Samuel, Gregor Brown, Euan Ferrie, Gregor Hiddleston and Angus Fraser having all been given the chance to shine on the South African’s watch and played their part in the club’s remarkable URC title triumph.
Smith would also be justified in countering criticism of the Talakai move by referencing the impact of Henco Venter, a 32-year-old South African journeyman who arrived last summer to little fanfare but became a key part of the championship-winning team.
Smith said: “Sam is a proven performer who we believe can add to our squad this season. To play 100 matches in Super Rugby shows the consistently high levels of performance he brings, and to have someone with that experience in our squad that our young, Scottish-qualified front-rowers can learn from can only benefit both the club and Scottish rugby in the long-term.
“Adding Sam also allows us to manage the workload of our senior international front-rowers, across what will be a long and physical season. We look forward to welcoming him to Scotstoun and to our squad in the coming weeks.”
Hailing from Sydney, Talakai impressed in the Shute Shield before being picked up by the Waratahs. He made his professional debut against the touring 2013 British & Irish Lions, before moving to the Queensland Reds two years later.
Talakai then teamed up with Sione Tuipulotu at the Melbourne Rebels, missing only one match across the 2018 and 2019 Super Rugby seasons before moving to Japan, where he helped Suntory Sungoliath to three grand finals. Talakai spent the first half of this year back with the Rebels, before the demise of the franchise left him without a club.
“I’ve heard nothing but good things about Glasgow and the people, and the direction the club is heading played a big part,” Talakai said. “The rugby programme is impressive, there’s a great squad assembled and my kids getting to experience a new culture — both as part of Glasgow Warriors and in the city of Glasgow — is the cherry on top.
“I spoke with Franco earlier in the year and he talked about the club’s vision and the direction we’re travelling as a group. It was an impressive catch-up and I’m excited to get stuck in. Since then, I’ve been in regular contact with Sione. We played together in Australia and he spoke really highly of the club, the group and the city. Those conversations, and hearing the positive things everyone has to say about the club, made the decision quite easy for me in the end.
“On the field, I’m someone who just goes to work and executes my core role for the team. Off the field I’m pretty chilled. My family and I will just look to settle in and connect to the community, and we’re looking forward to meeting the Warrior Nation soon.”