Gordon Reid already feeling at home with London Irish

Prop Gordon Reid in action for Glasgow Warriors. Picture: Gary Hutchison/SNS/SRU

When Reid was holding down two jobs and training and playing top-flight club rugby with Ayr back in late 2010, turning out for the Warriors was far from his mind.

However, consistent performances with the Millbrae men earned him a part-time contract with the pro team and a debut came off the  bench against the Ospreys in March 2011.

He went on to make more than 100 appearances for the Scotstoun outfit and now has 27 caps for his country as a result of his steady play in the No 1 jersey for the club.

Everyone needs a change at some point though and fans’ favourite Reid was keen to weigh up new options when his Warriors spell ended.

He explored a number of opportunities, including the possibility of moving to France but, eventually, he settled on a move to London Irish who  this summer returned to the English top flight after  promotion.

“I had to make sure that any move I made was right for my family and that is why I took my time weighing up options and doing my research,” Reid said in his first interview since moving south.

“When London Irish showed an interest I made sure I got straight on the phone to guys that have played there before like Sean Maitland and Geoff Cross and they could not have had better things to say about the place.

“I asked them to be honest and they were, telling me it had a great spirit, where everyone works hard for each other and a club that looks after you and your family.

“So, I took the chance to head down here and in my first few weeks here I have found  everything they told me to be true.

“The guys made me feel at home right away and I have been loving pre-season so far as we have all been  getting stuck in and working really hard, there is a great vibe here.”

Clubs who have come up from the Greene King IPA Championship to the English top flight in recent years have struggled to compete with the big spending teams and have often gone straight back down.

London Irish seem better positioned to mount a good challenge to stay up given the coaching and playing group they have – and Reid is excited to be a part of it. He added: “It is clear that we have a quality squad here, I have seen that in training, but heading into most matches we will be underdogs and I think that will suit us if I am honest.

“Rugby is all about hard work on the training field and on the pitch and I can see us doing that day in and day out for the next few months.

“Like at the Warriors, we all get on very well there is a lot of mutual respect and the guys spend a lot of time in each  other’s company and that will make us want to win for each other that little bit more when games kick-off.

“We have guys in the squad like Ben Franks who has won World Cups with New Zealand and is world class, but there are no egos and everyone is in this together. I have never seen someone as competitive and who work as hard as Ben while it is great for me to have a few other Scots here like Greig Tonks, Blair Cowan and Scott Steele. Our pre-season friendlies start this weekend and then the season for real starts in early September when we play Harlequins at Twickenham, what a day that will be and I can’t wait.”