STANDING quietly behind the crowd, Chris Cusiter leans forward and tilts his head to one side to allow himself a better view of the screen.

His ears might be being assaulted by the persistent pounding of the rap music accompanying the footage at a bombastic Nike kit launch in Glasgow but his eyes are soothed by the sight of himself darting over the line for Perpignan in a Heineken Cup romp against Benetton Treviso in 2008.

A slight smile teases across his lips. It is upon such comforting recollections that the 31-year-old has relied over much of the past year, an anguished spell during which a troublesome shoulder injury prevented him making new memories. His problems, which began after an awkward fall against the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium almost exactly 12 months ago, excluded him from Glasgow Warriors' chastening campaign in the competition last term, so it is with some enthusiasm that the scrum-half looks ahead to this season's fixtures. Glasgow's daunting opening encounter, against holders Toulon in France, is still a while away but what's four weeks when you have been out for 11½ months?

Having had the chance to play in what he considers the world's premier club rugby tournament snatched away last season, then, it is little wonder Cusiter is perturbed by the prospect of another expulsion from the competition should English and French representatives make good on their threats of establishing a club-controlled breakaway series into which selected teams from the Celtic countries would be invited. After a summit in Dublin last week, Scottish negotiators remain hopeful that such an eventuality can be avoided, something Cusiter insists would be for the good of the game.

"For it to potentially not to happen next year would be hugely sad for rugby," said the Scotland back, who has made 26 appearances in the tournament for the Border Reivers, Perpignan and Glasgow. "I hope we can have a competition which is not a million miles away from the current format because I think it works; it captures peoples' interest. I understand the arguments on both sides but for the sake of the game I hope they can come up with a sensible solution.

"It's important this is being done for the right reasons. The lesser teams in France probably wouldn't survive in the Heineken, and it's probably the same in England and in our league, so I understand the argument about the fairness of the top six in the Rabo qualifying. But the fact the Italian teams are in it is brilliant because, like us in Scotland, they need to be playing in top competitions. In my eyes, you simply can't play in a lower-level league them step up and play against the very best teams; that doesn't make sense to me."

Similarly, there is a fundamental difficulty in making the transition from spending every day in the gym to thriving in the white heat of a competitive match. In his third outing from the bench, Cusiter was involved in the late try that earned Glasgow a remarkable victory over Ulster last Friday but concedes he has found it tough to reprise the rhythm that comes from playing every week.

That will come but, despite his gilded past, the Aberdonian might find the requisite game-time scarce, given the performances of both Niko Matawalu and Henry Pyrgos in his absence. Indeed, were it not for the foot injury that has sidelined the Fijian for the opening weeks of the campaign, Cusiter might not have made it back on the pitch yet.

"In the time you are away, other people are playing," he acknowledges. "Niko is such an exciting player and Henry has become a full internationalist so things change and nobody waits around for you. I've got ground to make up now but I'm enjoying it and I appreciate just playing even more. You miss the fun of it, the camaraderie, because rehab is really monotonous and boring and you kind of forget why you play rugby. It's not to be in the gym, it's to be out there and that thought got me through a lot of dark days." Such character is something Cusiter identifies among his team-mates, too. While Glasgow's performance at Ravenhill was missing the coruscating attacking rugby that they showcased last season, it was certainly not deficient in determination or desire. Indeed, the psychological sustenance that can be derived from not only winning in such a manner, but also doing so at a venue where they had not triumphed for four years, is something the scrum-half believes will stand Gregor Townsend's side in good stead as they endeavour to turn plaudits into prizes.

"The aim for this season is silverware," he insists. "We've lost three Rabo semi-finals and we've got to try and go further and, to do that, winning ugly is something that we'll have to do at times. I think people expect us to be better again this year and other teams know what we are capable of, but until you win something I don't think people really respect you."

n Chris Cusiter was helping University of Glasgow Sport & Recreation launch a groundbreaking partnership with Nike and Kitlocker.com, to provide its athletes, teams, staff and alumni with world-class sports kit.