He’s downloaded Duolingo Plus and is determined to give himself the best chance possible to succeed in France but Jamie Ritchie admits that his decision to leave Scottish rugby for Perpignan was the toughest of his career. The Scotland flanker will head to the capital of French Catalonia at the end of the season, bringing the curtain down on his decade-plus association with Edinburgh. Ritchie, 28, has always had an inkling to play abroad and felt that if he hadn’t made the leap now then he never would. That doesn’t mean to say it was an easy call to make. “It was a massive decision for me, and one that my wife and I spent a lot of time mulling over,” said the player who is currently in Spain preparing for this weekend’s Calcutta Cup match. “I've really enjoyed my time at Edinburgh. I've loved it. I've spent my whole adult life there. I arrived at Edinburgh when I was 17 years old. My whole career and adult life has been spent at the club so it was a really difficult decision to leave. “I think if I had decided not to leave now, I think I never would have. For me, I know that I probably would have regretted it if I had never challenged myself at a different club, in a different league and that was part of the decision. “Part of it was about experience for myself and my family, getting to live abroad and all the things that come along with that. But mainly, just a different challenge and making sure that I didn't finish rugby with any regrets, even though it could be a wee while yet. So that was the main decision around it.” He will join a burgeoning Scottish community in French rugby. Blair Kinghorn, Ben White, Jonny Gray and Stuart Hogg are all plying their trade in the Top 14 while Gregor Townsend has included Ewan Johnson and Alexander Masibaka from the second-tier Pro D2 in recent squads. Ritchie admitted that seeing the success enjoyed by his old team-mate Kinghorn at Toulouse had been an influencing factor. The full-back left Edinburgh for France in December 2023 and helped Toulouse win a Champions Cup and Top 14 double in his first season. “Playing in France was always something I thought I'd potentially do,” said Ritchie. “Whether that had been early in my career or later, I never really knew but it's something that I thought would be an exciting challenge. “When the opportunity arose, I think off the back of guys like Blair moving last year and having a lot of success and the stuff that he comes back with, saying that he's really enjoyed it and that it's quite different, it gives you a bit more confidence to be able to go and make that leap. “So, like I say, when the opportunity arose, it was something that I was really interested in and it made for a very difficult decision.” While Toulouse are riding high, Perpignan find themselves at the other end of the Top 14, in 10th place after 16 games. Ritchie says they are ambitious to recapture former glories. “I've spoken to the club quite a lot and I think they're really keen to push up the league back to where they maybe were nine, ten years ago, when they were up and in the mix, like in 2009, when they last won the league,” he said. “I think they're making some pretty bold signings and they're really pushing for improvement in that area. “I think the idea is that hopefully in the next couple of years we'll be pushing up the league. I'm really excited about getting to work with Frank Azéma, who's the head coach down there, who I've met and spoken to quite a bit over the last few months.” Ritchie intends to embrace fully the lifestyle but admits his French will need a bit of work. “Well, I've downloaded Duolingo Plus, but no, it's OK. It's not great,” he said. “I did Spanish at school, which is OK considering where I'm going in France, but the French will definitely need work. “But it's something that I'm really excited about. I'm really going to try and buy into it and get some lessons before I go and really try and lean into it when we get there as well. “I think it'll be a really great experience if I can try and learn a language.” - Don't miss a moment of this year's Six Nations with The Scotsman's special 50 per cent discount offer for three months