‘It was a massive shock’ – Scotland forward lifts lid on Glasgow Warriors departure and why it didn’t make sense
Jamie Bhatti on his departure from Glasgow Warriors.
Scotland prop Jamie Bhatti has spoken of the “massive shock” he felt after being told by Glasgow Warriors he would not have the plus-one option in his deal activated.
In a forthright interview with Scotland Rugby News, the 32-year-old did not hold back on the hurt he felt over the decision as he touched on a particularly difficult period.
The forward initially revealed that his agent couldn’t get in contact with a club representative in order to get the ball rolling on activating that additional year in his contract.
However, an encounter at training would then clear up any uncertainty around his future as he was told this was his last season at the United Rugby Championship outfit.
Wanted the plus-one
“It wasn’t my decision to leave,” Bhatti told the website.
“I had a plus-one option in my contract and I’d spoken to my agent, like anyone does, just to see what else was out there.
“It was still early, clubs weren’t really signing players yet, but I said to him, ‘Can you get in touch with Glasgow? I’d like to take my plus one and do one more year.’
“At that point I’d already decided that would probably be it. I’d even said to Franco [Smith] that if I got the plus one I’d do one more season and then retire.”
But then came the aforementioned issue for Bhatti’s agent in making contact with the club and the prop explained how the news was broken to him and why it was made.
“My agent couldn’t get hold of anyone at the club for weeks. Then one day I was doing a [training] session and John Manson came in and said, ‘Kenny Brown wants to speak to you,'” he explained.
“I assumed my agent must have finally got through to him. I walked into Kenny’s office and joked, ‘Am I getting sacked, mate?’ He said, ‘Take a seat, pal.’
“Straight away I thought, ‘F***.’ He then said, ‘Aye, actually. We’re not extending you. We’re not taking the plus one.’
“It was a massive shock. He explained it wasn’t a Glasgow decision, it was an SRU decision because I wasn’t in the Scotland picture anymore and, based on what I was earning, they weren’t going to extend me.
“That didn’t really make sense to me because I’d signed that contract during a World Cup, and I’d never been Scotland‘s first-choice player. The contract reflected where I was at when I signed it, so I didn’t really understand that explanation. But that was it. I knew my plans had changed and I was straight onto the market.”
Stayed and played
Bhatti has since signed a deal with PREM side Bath but is clearly upset with how his departure from the Warriors unfolded, citing a period that he chose club over family.
“I’ve supported them as a kid,” he said. “I’d been there for years and I’d put everything into that club.
“When we won the title in 2024, my wife’s dad died on the day of the Munster semi-final. He was a massive part of my life as well. I asked my wife if she wanted me to come home and I would’ve left straight away. But she told me to stay and play.
“So, I stayed. I played one of the biggest games in the club’s history while she was back home going through all of that then a couple of days later we were flying to South Africa, so I wasn’t there for my family either.
“When I think about everything I’d put myself through for that club, every time they needed me, I was there. So, to then be told it was basically a budget decision… that hurt.”
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He added: “I know rugby’s a business and clubs have to make tough decisions. I understand that. But when people say, ‘We look after our players,’ then something like that happens, it’s difficult not to feel like none of what you’ve done really matters.
“As soon as it comes down to the numbers, it’s just ‘see you later’.”
“I wouldn’t say I felt let down,” Bhatti continued. “I just think it’s easy to say all the right things about looking after players, but when the budget comes into it, that’s what matters.
“Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but after playing that many games for the club, it wasn’t nice just being told ‘You’re not being kept because of the budget’.
“This was the first time I’d been told I wasn’t being kept, and that was that. It just wasn’t an easy conversation to have.”
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