Go Johnny, Go! Why Gray should jump if Bordeaux come calling

Tom English, BBC Sport Scotland

Jonny Gray has lived in the parallel universe of the injured player for the last six months, a dislocated kneecap in a Challenge Cup semi-final in May putting an end to his domestic season with Exeter and, more cruelly, his World Cup hopes with Scotland.

Nothing has been heard of Gray since then, pretty much. Until the other day, that is. Even though he hasn’t yet made his return to action, reports from France are linking the 29-year-old with a move to Bordeaux, home of Damian Penaud, Matthieu Jalibert and Louis Bielle-Biarrey.

Blair Kinghorn last week, Gray this week. It’s a busy ol’ time. Bordeaux are looking for a lock for sure. Jandre Marais and Kane Douglas are out of contract in the summer and the club could do with a gnarled operator to come in. Gray, with 77 caps and a Premiership and European Cup double to his name, fits that bill.

Exeter wouldn’t want to lose him, but the thought of shifting another high-earner off the wage bill might have some appeal. Money’s tight. Jack Nowell, Sam and Joe Simmonds, three Exeter stalwarts of the great days, are all playing in France now.

Exeter finished seventh and seventh in the last two Premiership seasons. They’re third at the moment, but they’re nowhere near where they used to be in their recent pomp. There’s years left in Gray, but there’s also a sense that now might be a good opportunity to get away and reset somewhere else. The timing of this could be perfect for him.

Gray needs to find the kind of form that made him undroppable for Scotland, an aura he’s lost over the last while. He was on the bench behind his brother, Richie, and Grant Gilchrist in the first three rounds of the 2023 Six Nations and only started the last two because of Gilchrist’s red card against France. The younger Gray has a lot to do in order to win back his starting place, an unthinkable notion only a few years ago.

Bordeaux will like his honest graft and his durability. Save for his knee injury, he’s been on the go non-stop since making his international debut as a teenager. And this club is a fascinating one. In 2019-20 they were eight points clear at the top of the table when the season was abandoned due to COVID. In each of the last three seasons they’ve gone all the way to the semi-final - and lost.

If they see Gray as part of the solution to the problem of their near-misses then Gray might well see them as a way of beginning a new chapter in his career. His brother spent years in France with Toulouse and Castres and loved the experience. You’d imagine his advice might be sought if, and probably when, Bordeaux make their move.