Players must leave Glasgow & Edinburgh for trophies, says Peter Wright
- Published
Glasgow were thumped by defending Champions Exeter in their opening pool match
Glasgow and Edinburgh's best players will have to leave Scotland if they have ambitions to win trophies, says former British and Irish Lions prop Peter Wright.
Both pro sides were beaten in their opening Champions Cup pool matches to continue poor recent form.
Edinburgh lost 15-8 to La Rochelle, while Glasgow were thumped 42-0 by defending champions Exeter Chiefs.
"I think it's all down to what ambition they have," Wright said.
"If their ambition is solely to play professional rugby, then they may well just stay at Glasgow [or Edinburgh].
"But if they want to be successful and win trophies, then, with all due respect to Edinburgh and Glasgow, they're going to have to leave."
After improved showings in the Pro14 and Europe in recent seasons, Glasgow and Edinburgh have struggled badly this term.
A prolonged international window in the autumn left them without established Scotland internationals, with just four wins in 15 league matches between them as a result.
Key players returned for the Champions Cup, but were unable to address the poor form.
Former Scotland player Wright believes the clubs' best players will be looking to follow the likes of Finn Russell, Stuart Hogg, and Jonny Gray in moving elsewhere to further their careers.
"You're only talking two or three guys in each team," he added. "If you're ambitious, you want to finish your career as a domestic and European champion.
"The guys with ambition will be looking at their agents and saying: 'Try and get me in that Exeter team or across to France because I want to win a trophy.'
"We've got a group of players but the strength in depth is poor. I think that was proved with Edinburgh on Saturday and Glasgow on Sunday.
"The problem is we think we're going forward, but other teams and nations are going forward quicker."