Weir appointed to coaching role with Glasgow Warriors academy

The new role will see Weir take a step back from playing.

A firm favourite with the Warrior Nation, Weir has made 162 appearances to date for his boyhood club since making his debut in 2010, with his tally of 956 points bettered only by Tommy Hayes and Dan Parks in the club’s all-time rankings.

He is the only player to be part of two league-winning matchday squads, having been part of the Glasgow Warriors setup that lifted the Guinness PRO12 trophy in 2015 and the BKT United Rugby Championship trophy in June 2024.

The Cambuslang product also earned 30 caps for Scotland, scoring 80 points and appearing at the 2015 Rugby World Cup for the men in blue.

“I’m really excited by the new role,” Weir told glasgowwarriors.org.

“As a player I remember the transitional period you go through when moving from the academy to the senior squad, and the prospect of being a mentor to these young backs is something that I’m really looking forward to.

“A lot of the senior players at the club when I came through the academy had a huge impact on me – Al Kellock as club captain was a big influence. Scott Forrest, who’s now on the coaching team here, was someone I remember looking up to when he was captaining Scotland 7s and when I was at Cambuslang. Dan Parks, too – I worked for four or five months under Dan when I was finishing my college work before turning pro, and he had a major impact on me. It’s exciting to now be able to give that opportunity back to the younger guys.

“We want to graduate as many of our academy players to the pro game as possible – that’s my goal in the new position, and seeing young backs go from the academy to long and decorated careers for Glasgow Warriors and Scotland would be something that would fill me with great pride.

“It’s sad to close the door a bit on the playing side, but coaching has always been a passion of mine. Since moving back to Glasgow from Worcester, it was always the plan to move into coaching following my playing career, so to have the opportunity to do that now is hugely exciting.

“Franco [Smith] has been brilliant with me when it’s come to helping me to further my development as a coach – he’s invited me into the coaching meetings this season, and it’s been great to gain the insight from Franco, Nigel [Carolan], Scott and Roddy [Grant]. It’s a great platform for me, and it’s been good to try and implement some of that insight while still lacing up the boots with the boys on the field. It’s been a big learning curve, and it’s one that’ll only increase when moving into the new role.”

Weir will be joined in the academy coaching setup by Nick Ryan, who has been appointed as the club’s new Academy Manager.

Ryan moves to Glasgow following five years as the Director of Rugby at Sydney University, having previously led the pathway programme at Melbourne Rebels for three seasons.

Shade Munro completes the academy coaching trio, the former Glasgow second-rower continuing in his role in developing the young talents at Scotstoun.

Speaking following the announcement, Ryan said: “Joining Glasgow Warriors is incredibly exciting for me and it’s a huge honour to be part of the club.

“The Warriors are well renowned across the world given what they have achieved recently and a lot of that success has been born out of young players who have come through their academy system.

“It is testament to the work that has gone on at Scotstoun and I am looking forward to adding to that, and continue to drive it forward.

“Having someone like Duncan joining is brilliant as he knows the club like the back of his hand and the current academy players will look up to him.

“Shade Munro is also really experienced and working with him will be brilliant for myself given his deep knowledge of the game in Scotland.”