Grove was arguably the star find of Robinson's Scotland A tour to Romania in June, ousting Nick De Luca from the inside centre berth for the final match with France A, which the Scots won.
Though just 21, Grove has returned to build a reputation
as a strong-running, highly skilled and confident performer in the Guinness Premiership, playing every game for Worcester this season until the weekend's cup-tie, and ironically in the position that has recently become something of a problem for Robinson, outside centre.
With Max Evans and Ben Cairns sidelined by injury, the coaches again faced a call between De Luca and Grove and that Bucharest trip again tipped the balance, this time with the more appealing reward of a Test cap against Fiji.
"Romania was a stepping stone to where I am now, and the opportunity I have on Saturday," acknowledged Grove, "but this is a lot more special. I set myself a goal of getting a cap this year after the Romania tour, but I didn't think it would be this soon.
"The news did come as a bit of a shock last week. It was merely a case of the team-sheet being listed on a noticeboard and Andy flicked the sheet over and I didn't take in anything he said after that; it was all a bit of a blur. I was staring just at my name for a good five minutes.
"So it's been good to have the last seven days to come to terms with starting for Scotland and I feel I've got a lot more focus for Saturday now rather than worrying about nerves.
"While I'm still very excited I can concentrate on my game as opposed to the hype too much."
Grove will become Scotland's 1,014th internationalist when he takes to the Murrayfield pitch on Saturday afternoon and the latest of many to be born south of the Border, though perhaps the first from Solihull.
He qualifies through his grandfather, Ron Wylie, who was born in Glasgow and made his name as a professional footballer with Notts County, Aston Villa and Birmingham City, and then West Bromwich Albion manager.
If his father Lawrence was the key figure in moving Alex to rugby in Solihull, Wylie's influence and that of his daughter, Grove's mother, ensured it was to Scotland he would turn when heads were turned by the youngster in his teens.
"My grandfather was over the moon when I called him and will be here on Saturday, with all the family, and a load of mates from university. We're quite a sporty family – my younger brother (Ollie, 19] plays at Worcester as well and we are very competitive with each other, whether we're playing table-tennis or beach football. We'll both be out there to beat each other into the ground.
"It does help having my grandfather coming from that professional football background. He doesn't really understand rugby, but in terms of the discipline of professional sport, he had a real work ethic and I like to think I can emulate that.
"But it's so different to how things were when he played and professional sport has moved on so much that he can't really offer advice, but he is delighted for me.
"I've been in the system since I was 15 and my grandfather and mother definitely pulled me towards the Scottish side. I never had to make a choice because having been given the opportunity at 15 to play for the Exiles, and then playing under-16 and under-17s, it was a natural stepping stone into the Scotland age-grade rugby, the 18s, 19s, 20s and A tour.
"I have never found myself wanting to play for anyone else."
Robinson is keen to develop a strong off-loading game that makes Scotland a difficult team to defend against, and sees Grove as the key link-man in the midfield this weekend, offering a powerful presence in defence and attack, but also ensuring the Lamont brothers, Rory and Sean, and Simon Danielli, who has been looking back to his liveliest best at Ulster, are a regular presence in the Scottish attack.
The sole debutant in Scotland's squad, he will celebrate his 22nd birthday on St Andrew's Day and if he shows the form which so impressed Robinson and his assistants Gregor Townsend and Graham Steadman in Romania he will be a strong part of the Scottish international firmament by then.
"The initial shock has worn off now and I'm focused on this game," Grove added. "This is not just another game. I want to remember everything about Saturday, but not let that affect my game.
"I'll just concentrate on my basic skills and what I have to do in the game and hopefully I'll remember it for the right reasons when we get the win.
"We have great strength in depth, quality players in the centre, and I'm the lucky one to get the shirt this week, but the other guys are going to get their chance. They've already performed well at the top level. So all I can do is do my best, execute our game-plan and be part of a winning team on Saturday."
