He is one of the few players who admits to having liked Matt Williams, the former national coach; he has gone from Glasgow to Northampton at a time when playing in Scotland is back in vogue; and he is currently on his 13th Test cap.
"Thankfully, I'm not superstitious," he said in todays edition of The Scotsman, having just completed the first two days of training at Murrayfield under new coach Frank Hadden.
"But, it is fair to say I was worried about the risk I took leaving Scotland because I'd been given an opportunity by Glasgow and that led to Matt giving me my chance and showing faith in me even after some average games last autumn with Scotland.
"It's still a risk because you worry that you become 'out of sight, out of mind', but Frank has said he's going to come and watch me and videos are commonplace now, so I'm quite happy.
"I needed the move to make myself a better player and your skills have to improve playing against and alongside some of the best players in the world every week.
"Carlos Spencer [the former All Black fly-half signed by Northampton this summer] is unbelievable - he has great vision, great hands, great kicking ability, the whole package - and is so much fun to play behind. He tries a lot of things and most come off, but you can see it's not by accident.
"Carlos has clearly spent hours upon hours training and improving skills, like Jonny Wilkinson, and that is the inspiration for me."
A typically upbeat, excitable character, he is anxious about not yet scoring for Saints in four starts, but the 24-year-old from Perth was heartened by the welcome he received from his team-mates on his first return north this week.
He admitted: "It's been great being back because it was a very hard decision to leave Glasgow and I still miss the players and coaches there. But I think I've made the right move for me. The standard of rugby in the Guinness Premiership is higher every week than we had in the Celtic League - we have strong players, but overall, across the board they're stronger in England, so it's tighter, and harder to break tackles and find space, but that's the challenge you have to have if you're going to be a better player and better internationalist.
"I don't know if I've improved much yet, though I've been picking up little things from Carlos, but I know that I absolutely still want that Scotland jersey. I've started 13 Tests in a row and I'm keen to keep that run going, but there is incredible competition for places with my brother Rory, Chris Paterson, Hugo Southwell, Simon Danielli and Simon Webster all wanting places, so you have to be on top form to have a chance.
"But that comes back to why I've taken this chance - I want to be the best I can be."
Hadden scrapped yesterday's afternoon training, stating he was delighted with the response of the players to his first sessions and that he wanted to develop good relations with the club coaches by releasing players as soon as he could.
Budge Pountney, the former Scotland skipper and now Sean's coach at Northampton, commented: "Frank's communication will go down well with coaches because we all want the best for the players.
"I want our players to be involved with international teams, which is why I changed the direction we were heading before of having fewer current internationals.
"That was crazy. If you look at the best two sides in England last season - Leicester and Wasps - they had the most current internationals, and that's a factor in their success because it means you have players who are very ambitious.
"Northampton is proud of the internationals we have and I'm particularly proud of having a Scot in Sean. He has been like a breath of fresh air at the club - he's so enthusiastic he tires the guys out in training. He has earned the guys' respect here and I know that the back three we have of Sean, Bruce Reihana and Ben Cohen is becoming one of the most feared in the Premiership.
"I am delighted for Sean and I hope he plays a big part in what are three very tough, physical games coming up for Scotland."