It's not Alex's first involvement in a summer tour with Scotland.
A year ago, an injury to Graeme Morrison handed Alex an opportunity to put together a run of games. Not only did he finish the season strongly for the Warriors and secure a new contract but he was called up as a late replacement on the summer tour to Australia, Fiji and Samoa. No Test cap came his way, but he was delighted nonetheless.
Alex told the Scotsman: “It was quite an end to the season for me, but also a huge step forward in my career.
“In my first couple of years at Glasgow I had niggling injuries and couldn’t string a run of games together but, towards the end of last season, I was training well, coming into a bit of form and then, when Graeme got injured, I was lucky enough to get six or seven games and was just thankful that my performances held up.
“It was perfect timing because it was coming to the end of my first contract and you never know what’s going to happen when you’ve not had the chance to play much. I knew I could play at pro level, I just needed a run of games.
“I got that, took my chance and then, when Max Evans was delayed playing in France, I was called up for the tour. I had gone on holiday to visit my parents, who run a farm in Tasmania now, and so I guess it was handy.”
The big centre has used last year's experiences as a springboard, establishing himself in the Glasgow midfield and putting in a number of impressive displays. He's also formed an impressive partnership with another young Warrior, Peter Horne.
“I don’t see it as much different to last year to be honest,” said Alex. “It’s all about learning from the experience and the guys around you.
“It was a good Scotland tour last year. I was just involved in the training sessions but I stayed with them to the end of the tour and it was a great experience, going from two years at under-20s championship into a professional set-up and two years later into a Test environment.
“Those experiences have helped my game a lot and this season my aim has been just to kick on. With such a competitive squad at Glasgow that’s not easy, but I was fortunate enough to get involved in the first couple of games and then hung onto it.
“This has been the first year that I’ve really stayed relatively injury-free and managed to string games together, and it’s been hugely enjoyable.
“I don’t mind where I play but I’ve enjoyed playing alongside Pete and trying to work off him,” said Alex. “We bring different skills to what we’re doing, but the skill level of the whole squad has risen with Gregor [Townsend] and Matt [Taylor] coming in.
“I work hard on my passing game because it’s an area I have to improve on, but you’ll find most of the boys out for half an hour at least after training working on passing, catching, tackling, kicking.”
You can read the full article here