Glasgow Warriors players have been told that their reward for an outstanding finish to the season will be the recruitment of significant reinforcements.

They come in the shape of Darryl Gibson, the former All Black, Kelly Brown, the Scotland flanker, and Lome Fa'atau, the Samoa international winger.

Since Andy Irvine, president of the Scottish Rugby Union, indicated last weekend that Gibson was a target for the Warriors, speculation had been growing about the calibre of players being lined up.

It was already known that Michael Collins, the former Waikato Chiefs captain, and Chris O'Young, the Western Force scrum-half, will be joining, along with Dougie Hall, the Scotland hooker who first signed professional terms with Glasgow before switching to Edinburgh.

However, The Herald understands that, in seeking to ensure that the players were not unsettled by rumours, the Warriors management told them yesterday what they expect next season's squad to be, and it included Gibson, Brown and Fa'atau.

Sean Lineen, their head coach, said yesterday that he could not yet confirm any signings other than those already officially announced.

"We are very hopeful of being able to do so shortly once all the paperwork is in place," he said.

He knows that he has to introduce additional quality to compensate for the loss of senior players in the first half of next season, when close to a full team of Warriors is likely to be on World Cup duty, but must also look at bolstering his squad longer term.

A number of promising Scottish youngsters have been recruited. Moray Low has earned a full-time contract with his impressive displays in the Magners League this season, while Mike Adamson has also been upgraded from an apprentice contract. Ed Kalman, originally a product of Whitecraigs, has had an excellent season with Border Reivers and has been joined in moving from them to Glasgow by the Dundonian Richie Vernon.

Max Evans, the older brother of Thom, who has become a firm favourite with Warriors fans since joining last summer, has also come through his trial well, playing regularly for Glasgow Hawks and in the national sevens squad.

They are all raw, though, and will need senior men around them, particularly during the World Cup. That is why the prospect of bringing such knowhow to the squad should excite Warriors supporters.

Gibson, in particular, brings a wealth of experience as a four-time Super 12 winner with Canterbury Crusaders who won 19 caps for the All Blacks. He is currently helping Leicester Tigers try to complete an unprecedented treble. They have won the Anglo-Welsh Trophy and have the Guinness Premiership and Heineken Cup finals still to come.

Fa'atau is a top-class finisher who was the leading try-scorer in last year's Super 14 when he helped Wellington Hurricanes reach the final. He also has World Cup experience with Samoa.

Arguably the most telling signing of them all, though, will be that of Brown, recently voted players' player of the year at the Scottish Professional Rugby Association awards.

One of the most popular individuals in the Scottish game, the flanker has established himself as a Test regular in the past season and, following news that the Border Reivers were to be disbanded, his signature has been very much sought after.

In particular, it was known that, like Chris Cusiter, his captain at the Reivers, Simon Taylor, his Scotland back-row colleague, and Scott Murray, another international team-mate, he had very attractive offers to go to France.

That he seems to have been persuaded to join a Warriors squad that still does not know where it will be playing next season is a huge vote of confidence in what is happening at the club.