Glasgow Warriors: Jonny Gray signs new two-year deal after rejecting Bristol

Jonny Gray says he is delighted to extend his stay at a "special club"

Scotland lock Jonny Gray has signed a new two-year deal with Glasgow Warriors after rejecting a move to Bristol.

The 23-year-old, who has 38 caps and 79 appearances for Warrriors, will be tied to the club until May 2020.

"There were [other offers] but I won't go into that," Gray said. "My heart is here, I love this city and this club."

Warriors head coach Dave Rennie expressed delight at securing the future of such a "phenomenal player" with an impressive work ethic.

Domestically, Gray made his Warriors debut aged 18 in December 2012 and helped them clinch the Pro12 title for the first time in 2015.

Warriors, who play in the 1872 Cup against Edinburgh on Saturday, have won all 10 of their league fixtures this season.

But Rennie's men have underperformed in the European Champions Cup, losing four pool games from four.

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"We're disappointed with Europe but we're going well in the league and hopefully we can continue that," Gray said.

"This is a very ambitious club with a lot of exciting young players and older players. I'm learning all the time from the coaches and staff here, and I'm very well looked after. Hopefully I can keep improving."

"We've still got a lot of things to work on. The last two games in Europe [back-to-back defeats by Montpellier] we were very disappointed about.

"But we're really enjoying the rugby, it's a great group of guys, and we can have these honest conversations and say, 'we need to get better at this'.

"It's a great environment to be in and everyone is striving to go forward."

'My gran was the biggest influence I had'

The 6ft 6in lock cites his grandmother as a key figure in his life.

"It's hard to put into words [the feeling] when you go out and represent the people who got you're here - my family, my gran, my club, Cambuslang," Gray said.

"I think on behalf of the whole team everyone feels like that.

"My gran was the biggest influence I had - not just rugby, but off the field. She was very special, not just to me, but to my whole family. She wasn't a rugby fan at all, but she always had advice for me and taught me a lot of lessons in life that I stick to now."

New Zealander Dave Rennie, centre, took charge of Glasgow this summer

Rennie said he was "rapt" to extend Gray's stay at Warriors, with the lock's previous deal due to expire at the end of the season.

"Jonny has achieved an enormous amount for a guy of 23," he added.

"He has 38 caps for Scotland and is playing his 80th game for Glasgow this weekend.

"He's part of the leadership group here, he's captained the side before and is a massive contributor about the place week in, week out."