British Lion Cusiter missed the entirety of the 2011 RBS 6 Nations as part of his 11-month spell on the sidelines with a fractured knee cap.

Capped 52 times, the 28-year-old Glasgow Warriors scrum-half has been included in Scotland’s provisional 40-man squad for the World Cup in New Zealand and will continue to push his case after returning for pre-season.

“I managed the last three games for Glasgow but as everyone went for the off-season I thought I needed a bit more game time,” said Cusiter.

“It's was not quite the same level as the Magners League, it's semi-professional, but it was a pretty good standard, with some fantastic players.

“I played three 80 minutes down there and had a great time. I'm certainly fitter than when I went.

“We start pre-season training [with Glasgow] on Monday and that's going to be a big help as well, doing that fitness work, the weights and conditioning.

“Final selection for the World Cup is in August and that's the big goal for every Scottish rugby player in the squad of 40.

“I'm desperate to be there, desperate to make the team, but there's a lot of hard work to be done between now and then.”