BRIAN Alainu’uese has admitted he may consider seeking selection for Scotland if and when he becomes eligible via residence. The 23-year-old lock forward signed a new two-year contract with Glasgow last week, having originally joined last autumn on a short-term deal, so would need to re-sign again to be here for the minimum three-year period required under the current laws.
Born in Auckland and therefore a potential New Zealand cap, Alainu’uese is also eligible to play for Samoa on parental grounds, but has yet to commit himself to any country. Given the impact he has made in his first season at Scotstoun, however, he could well play himself into national consideration here over the next couple of years, although yesterday he would only say he was aware of the possibility.
“It has crossed my mind,” he said. “You never know. I might.
“I played for Samoa Under-20s - I played against Jonny [Gray] and some of the other boys here. It was at the World Cup in France. But that doesn’t commit me to playing for Samoa.”
The fact that Warriors coach Gregor Townsend is moving to take charge of Scotland should be in Alainu’uese’s favour, as should the imminent arrival of Dave Rennie, who will succeed Townsend at Scotstoun. The big second row believes that Rennie will introduce a recognisably different style to the Warriors’ style of play when he takes over as head coach this summer.
“He’s a good coach. He’s won two Super Rugby titles, so that’s good. And more importantly, he’s a good man as well. I think he likes the culture and the environment of the team, and he makes teams play better.
“I think he’ll bring more of a culture. Glasgow’s already a culture team, but he’ll bring his own kind of style into the team and I think you’ll see it out on the pitch. Just a lot of changes he’ll make.
“Team bonding is really big for him. Back at the Chiefs we had a strong local culture. We were well connected with the community. It’s similar at the Warriors, although the style is different.”
Although Alainu’uese was not specifically advised by Rennie to move from Waikato to Scotland, he came north with the coach’s blessing. And while the Glasgow weather took a bit of getting used to after the sunshine of Auckland, Alainu’uese quickly established himself as a fans’ favourite thanks to his wholly committed style of play - a factor which helped ensure he did not take long to agree to extend his deal for another couple of years.
“We didn’t really discuss anything, but I knew that he was coming here next year,” Alainu’uese said of Rennie “So it made me just want to come here and see the other side of rugby and stuff. I wanted to have a change in life and in rugby as well.
““I really enjoy the company of the boys and the fans, and when the [new two-year] offer came up that just made it an easier decision for me to stay here.
“It’s a nice city. There’s a lot of people in the city. Like they say, ‘People make Glasgow’, and they definitely do. I enjoy the city. It’s nice.
“I come from sunny places, big family, and it was a big move for me. I came over here and I was all alone, by myself, and like I said the boys in the team made me feel very welcome.”
Meanwhile, Leinster, the first team to have ensured they will finish in the top two of the PRO12, will be at home to their as-yet-unknown opponents in the first of this year’s semi-finals. The match will be at the RDS Arena in Dublin on Friday 19 May, kicking off at 7.45pm.
Munster or Scarlets, second and third respectively in the table with two rounds of fixtures to go, will be at home on Saturday 20 in the second semi, which kicks off at 6.15pm. Munster could be confirmed as the home semi-finalists this weekend if results go their way. Glasgow still have a faint chance of qualifying for the play-offs, but would need to win both of their remaining games and rely on a highly unlikely combination of other results.
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