IT IS obviously disappointing that we won’t get to play against South African sides in the Rainbow Cup - they have some really high-quality teams and it would have been good fun to play against them, especially if it had been down there in some warm weather.

But, having said that, there is still a lot for Glasgow to play for in the new competition.

I’m not involved against Treviso today because of a facial fracture I picked up against Montpellier, but right now I’m pretty confident that I will be back in a few weeks. The good thing from a Warriors point of view is that the bulk of our players are available again from this first game on, something that for various reasons has not been the case for a sustained run of games this season, and after training together as a full unit for a few weeks now, it will be exciting to see how we go. 

I could run three days after the injury, and although I’m not taking contact and I’ve got to be wary of stray elbows and things like that, I can still fully train. The doc has cut me out a hockey mask to wear as a precaution, and that has left me looking like something out of Friday the 13th, running around with a chainsaw.

I’ve been running the Reggies team, as we call it - the bibs team that trains against the first team and paints the pictures that they’ll be seeing at the weekend. We were Treviso this week and got to chuck it about a bit, which was good fun. It’s less fun when you’re teams that kick the ball more and you don’t get to play with it as much in training. 

My biggest concern when I got injured was whether I’d need to sit things out entirely for a few weeks, because recently I’ve felt really sharp - the best I’ve been in a long time. I felt I was getting back to where I was, with coming on for Scotland against France and then playing for Glasgow in the Challenge Cup game against Montpellier. 

So, having been taking a hammering in the gym as well as training on the pitch, I’m sure my fitness is holding up well. I just need to build my game time back up again. If I’d had to sit out training for four to six weeks that would have set me back again, so it’s good I can get in amongst the other boys.

I’ve actually got fractures in three different places in my face. Thankfully it didn’t need an op as it held its position well, and that has sped up my healing time as well. I didn’t really feel pain when it happened, which is why I stayed on the pitch. I’m still numb. It’s not sore, at least. 

What with one thing and another it has been a frustrating season for everyone, and in my case it feels like I’ve gone from injury to injury. I had been relatively lucky with my career up to this point with injuries, and this season has opened my eyes to the other side of rugby.

My target right now is to be back for the second game against Edinburgh next month. I’ve been told that the precise timing of my comeback will depend to a large extent on how comfortable I feel with my injury, and for one thing, I’ll need the numbness to go away. 

Those local derbies are always good fun - they’re highly contested games, and boys are generally up for them. So it will be good to target that second derby for my comeback, then hopefully get a few more games after that before I leave the club in the summer.

In a perfect world I’d like to get back playing before the end of the season in front of some fans and go out with a bang. I’m gutted for Huw Jones, who won’t have that opportunity before he leaves. 

Hopefully after the Rainbow Cup and before I report to Gloucester, there will be a summer tour with Scotland. I’ve not played a lot of rugby this season, so I would be very much up for it if selected. It would be good to have a few more weeks with the boys before I go down to Gloucester.

I do feel like I’ll need some time off at some stage, more mentally than physically. A good few weeks off doing nothing other than recharging the batteries is important, because it has been such a frustrating season with Covid and things like that.  But for the next couple of months I’m keen to get as many games as possible under my belt.