Greig Laidlaw to make ProD2 switch gamble - reports

Former Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw is set to leave Clermont Auvergne for a switch to the ProD2 with Perpignan – according to reports in France.

Laidlaw, 34, has led Scotland 39 times, more than any other player, and won 76 caps, before announcing his retirement from international rugby following the Rugby World Cup in Japan.

Laidlaw has spent the last two seasons in France with Clermont, winning the Challenge Cup last year.

Meanwhile, Perpignan currently sit in third on the ProD2 after they were relegated in last season’s Top 14. Unless Laidlaw has a promotion/relegation clause, his move is effectively a gamble on whether not the Catalans gain promotion.

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WATCH: Head coach Eddie Jones and captain Owen Farrell hold a press conference in London ahead of the start of the Six Nations tournament.

The Scottish veteran’s Test breakthrough came with two replacement appearances in 2011 before he narrowly missed out on final squad selection for Rugby World Cup 2011, a moment that galvanised the ambition of the resolute, competitive player he would become.

The next Test opportunity for the proud Jed man came the following year when his versatility and rugby nous were pressed into action at stand-off, where he made 11 further Scotland appearances, including a clean sweep of summer tour wins in 2012 over Australia, Fiji and Samoa.

Straw has been clutchedhttps://t.co/YKocBuwe0U

— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 25, 2020

Finishing the season in possession of the No. 9 jersey led to him being named captain for the first time in 2013 – against South Africa in Nelspruit – starting an unprecedented association with the role that came to an end when he led Scotland against Japan in the final Test of Rugby World Cup 2019.

By 2014, it was clear Laidlaw had developed significantly as both a leader and scrum-half, his commanding hand on the tiller and goal kicking in particular now dependable features of his game.

His metronomic displays helped Scotland to the quarter-finals of RWC2015 and his nomination for World Rugby Player of the Year, only the second Scot to achieve such an accolade.

A 2017 British and Irish Lions call-up came after recovering from an ankle injury sustained in that year’s away Six Nations match in Paris.

He would return to star in the 2018 Six Nations Championship, scoring 22 points in Scotland’s home win over France and featuring against England in the Calcutta Cup triumph two weeks later.

Laidlaw played three times at RWC2019 earlier this year, where he passed the 100-World Cup tournament point mark in Scotland’s final match against the hosts, in what would ultimately be his last game in dark blue.