By Steve Scott, rugby correspondent

SCOTLAND AND Lions hooker Gordon Bulloch will join the Scottish international contingent at Leeds from next season, ending an attachment with Glasgow dating back to the amateur era.

The 30-year-old, Scotland’s most-capped hooker and the skipper of the national team since last autumn, broke off negotiations with the Warriors last month signalling that he intended to go to the Guinness Premiership next season.

Scotland’s new coaching team will be delighted he has chosen Leeds, as the Tykes have been easily the most co-operative of the English clubs in ensuring that their Scottish internationals are available for games and training sessions.

Last year Tykes director of rugby Phil Davies even defied an order from Premier Rugby, the association of top English clubs, and allowed the release of his Scottish players for the extra autumn international against Australia.

Bulloch’s departure from Scottish domestic rugby had been an open secret since the Six Nations, when his decision to seek a club in England was seen as a key example of the team’s growing dissatisfaction with doomed coach Matt Williams.

As national captain, Bulloch’s stance was in direct confrontation to Williams’ Fortress Scotland policy, which demanded that leading Scots internationalists play their domestic rugby at home.

He has agreed a two-year contract with the Premiership club and will end a decade with his hometown team of Glasgow.

“I have had 10 years with Glasgow Rugby in one guise or another and, like all good things, it has come to an end,” he said.

“I’m very much looking forward to the Lions tour and then all the excitement that joining a club with the drive and ambition of Leeds Tykes will bring.

“It’s hard to leave my home city and I’d like to thank my agent Shaun Longstaff for all he’s done to secure this opportunity for me.”

Scotland’s acting director of rugby, Richie Dixon, who coached Bulloch at both international and pro-team level, said, “Gordon has given 10 years of dedicated service to Glasgow Rugby and he has been an outstanding personality for Scottish rugby. I wish Gordon all the very best in his move to Leeds and look forward to his continuing contribution to Scottish rugby.”

Tykes supremo Davies added, “Gordon is a world-class player who has performed at the highest level. At 30, Gordon is still in his prime as a front rower and we are excited about him joining our current group of players and adding his experience to the blend that we already have.

“Gordon is a player I have admired for a number of seasons and it is great that he is looking forward to joining us after the Lions tour.

“We have a tough year ahead of us, with a highly- competitive Guinness Premiership campaign alongside our entry into the Heineken Cup and the capture of a player of the calibre of Gordon is a massive boost to those aims.”