GLASGOW Warriors have secured the services of two more of their players, agreeing new two-year deals with Fraser Brown and Pat MacArthur. The international hookers, whose previous deals were due to expire this summer, are now under contract until 2018.

Brown, who has played 15 times for Scotland, made his debut against Italy in the South African quadrangular tournament in the summer of 2013. He was capped twice the following year, in the Autumn Tests against New Zealand and Tonga, both times also off the bench.

Last year he came on as a substitute in all five of Scotland’s Six Nations Championships matches, then finally made his first international start in the World Cup warm-up match against Ireland. One of Scotland’s most impressive performers at the World Cup, Brown started a Test for the second time in the pool game against South Africa. While he played in his now-customary position of hooker that day, he showed in the tournament that he remains a more than useful loose forward.

MacArthur has six caps, having made his Scotland debut - and to date his only start - against Samoa, also in South Africa in the summer of 2013. His first Murrayfield appearance came as a substitute in the win against Japan towards the end of that year, and he has also come off the bench against Australia, the United States, Ireland and Argentina. The last of those appearances, however, was in 2014, and he was not selected for last year’s Rugby World Cup squad.

With Finn Russell and Jonny Gray among the first-team regulars to have agreed contract extensions with the Warriors earlier in the season, the number of key players who are out of contract in the summer is steadily going down. Perhaps more importantly, the head coach, Gregor Townsend, agreed an extension of his deal last month, and is now under contract with the PRO12 champions until the summer of next year.