A familiar face in new surroundings. That was how Brian Alainu’uese greeted Dave Rennie’s arrival as the new head coach of Glasgow Warriors this summer, having worked under the New Zealander at the Chiefs prior to his Scotstoun switch.

The Rennie Revolution has seen a number of ins and outs at the Pro14 club, with Alainu’uese welcoming compatriots Callum Gibbins and Lelia Masaga to the club along with the likes of Scotland internationalists Huw Jones and Ruaridh Jackson.

Results have followed as Glasgow won their first three games against Connacht, Ospreys and Cardiff Blues to go second in the Conference A standings, one point adrift of Friday’s opponents Munster.

The towering figure of Alainu’uese, who stands 6ft 8in tall and weighs in at 135kg, previously made two Super Rugby appearances under Rennie and told Herald Sport that he has not been surprised to see his former mentor continue the good work done by Gregor Townsend.

He said: “I think the last three games have been a good start for the boys and since the coach has been in he’s added in a new culture adding on from Gregor.

“I think they’re similar coaches who like to play the fast wide game. But he’s bringing a different culture into the team which is new and different for the Scottish boys, and us also coming from New Zealand.”

Competition for places is fiercer than ever at Scotstoun with Scotland second rows Jonny Gray and Tim Swinson standing in the way of a starting shirt for Alainu’uese in addition to emerging talent Scott Cummings and USA internationalist Greg Peterson.

“I don’t think any spot is (nailed down), there’s a lot of players who are good enough to fill in their jersey,” said the Samoa Under-20 international.

“It’s very competitive in training and it’s tough to get a position now in the team – which is good for us.”

The former Waikato man, who has made 18 Warriors appearances since debuting in October 2016, explained that he is now feeling more at ease in his surroundings a year on from his move to the northern hemisphere..

“I’m way more comfortable than when I first came,” he said. “Now I’m adapting to the game, the boys are helping me a lot to get through games and training so it’s been good.

“I think in the north the set piece is the strong point whereas in the south it’s more the skill, the wide players and stuff like that. But Dave Rennie has definitely brought great skill levels to us here which we can use - as you can see in the last three games.”

*Brian Alainu'uese was speaking at the launch of Savills Glasgow as the new official property sponsor of Glasgow Warriors*