THE last few months have been challenging, to say the least, for Nick Grigg.

The Glasgow Warriors centre has been forced to deal with more than one blow but he is now, he believes, in the frame of mind needed to perform to his best for his club side.

The 27-year-old was included in Gregor Townsend’s preliminary squad for the current World Cup but with the squad needing whittled down, Grigg failed to make the cut. And so having rejoined his Glasgow team mates in the lead-up to the start of the Guinness Pro14 season, the New Zealand-born centre suffered a second blow with an injury in pre-season.

“The past few months have been pretty frustrating for me,” admitted Grigg, who was speaking following the announcement that McCrea Financial Services will be continuing to sponsor Glasgow Warriors for at least another two seasons.

The last full game I played was against England in the 6 Nations so it feels like a long time ago. Not making the World Cup was pretty disappointing but it was quite lucky timing, we had a week off after I was told I wasn’t going any further so I was able to get my head out of rugby for a week before I got back.

"It was good being back in the Glasgow environment but it was a tough few weeks. I got my head around the fact the World Cup dream was over for me but we had goals at Glasgow and so we were all ready at the start of the season to push again and try to win it this year.

"I was feeling pretty positive but then I got a knock on my knee during the Ulster pre-season game.”

Despite his injury, Grigg started Warriors’ first game of the season a fortnight ago against the Cheetahs but with his knee flaring up, he was forced to be replaced within the first quarter. Subsequent scans showed there was no serious damage, with Grigg likely to be back in action this Saturday when the Warriors face Cardiff Blues at Scotstoun.

Following two defeats in their opening two league fixtures, tomorrow’s match is a game in which they desperately need a good performance. Grigg however, is confident that despite his team’s brace of losses, they have ironed out their issues.

“We worked hard in pre-season and so the first two games have been disappointing, he said.

“But we’ve another home game this weekend and so we’re hoping we’ll get back to winning because we really need it leading into the one-week break.

"I think accuracy is the main thing. Against the Cheetahs, it was more effort and the players needed to work harder around the field but I felt like we got a push and had that effort last Friday but it was accuracy that let us down in key areas of the field. But if we can get our basic skills and accuracy right in this game we should be able to put Cardiff away.”

Warriors have something of an embarrassment of riches at centre and so even a player of the calibre of Grigg is not guaranteed a starting spot in Dave Rennie’s starting fifteen.

The fight for places is not something that fazes Grigg though and in fact, he relished the competition.

“With so many places going for the same position, you can sometimes think damn it because it does add pressure but at the same time, I think it’s a really good thing,” he said while speaking following the announcement of the sponsorship renewal – which will see the partnership enter its 12th and 13th years.

“If you didn’t have that pressure, I don’t think you wouldn’t push yourself as hard. If you’re comfortable with where you are, you maybe wouldn’t work as hard to improve so it’s definitely healthy because it makes you better player. You want to personally do well but ultimately, it’s a team sport and you want what’s best for the team. And it’s good to be kept on your toes.”

Warriors may not have had the start to the season they were looking for but Grigg remains confident that having reached the semi-finals and the final in the previous two season, they can go one better this year.

“I think we can be right up there again this season,” he said.

“Even with Scotland guys away in previous seasons, we’ve pushed other teams and won most of our games so we’re feeling good about things, even when we have guys missing. We have the ability to do well, we just need to show it on the field.”

McCrea Financial Services are the longest serving sponsors of Glasgow Warriors and providers of Independent Financial Advice for Individuals and businesses. Find out more at www.mccreafs.co.uk