Former All Black loose forward Chris Masoe has turned down the chance to play for Glasgow Warriors in favour of staying in France.

Masoe informed Glasgow that he has decided to remain in France with Top 14 club Castres.

"Although I'm not going to be joining the Warriors on this occasion, I'd like to make a point of putting on record how impressed I've been with the club and Scottish Rugby throughout this whole process," Masoe said.

"My partner Gemma and I paid a visit to Glasgow and Scotstoun Stadium a few weeks ago, and we were both blown away by the warmth of the welcome we received from everyone at the club and the people we met around the city.

"The Warriors couldn't have done more to make us feel wanted, and as a result this was an extremely tough decision. The club are heading in the right direction and I wish them all the best for the future."

Warriors head coach Sean Lineen said: "While we're obviously disappointed that Chris has decided to stay in France, the efforts we made to bring him here underline our ambition to keep improving the squad.

"We're very happy with the signings and re-signings that we've made of late, and we'll continue to seek to add to them over the coming months."