CHRIS CUSITER is confident a spell of national service will have him fit for action for Glasgow Warriors Rabo Direct PRO12 opener at Ulster a week today.

The scrum-half has not enjoyed any game time in either of Warriors' two friendlies against English Premiership opposition Sale and Exeter.

Cus has been adhering to a rest and rehabilitation programme laid out for Glasgow's Scotland contingent after their exertions on the victorious three-test sweep of Australasia earlier in the summer.

While the 30-year-old admits he would rather have had some match practice during the build- up to the Ravenhill run-out with the Heineken Cup Finalists, Cus says he has never felt better heading into a new season.

The Warriors No.9 came off the bench for second-half cameos against Australia and Fiji before starting the final game of the tour Down Under against Samoa.

But he is adamant his two months away from a match environment will not hinder his hopes of a big season.

He said: "Usually you want a couple of warm-up games under your belt, but I've had the benefit of three games with Scotland when the other guys were resting so it is a case of balancing all of that up.

"My priority is to start the season in peak condition with no injury concerns and absolutely ready to play at 100% of my game and I am ready to do that at Ulster next Friday.

"Maybe it will take a bit of time to be absolutely on to the pace of the game, but that is where experience plays its part. This could be a massive season for Glasgow and I am hungry to make as big a contribution as I can. I feel as good as I have ever done in terms of my physical conditioning."

However, Cus will face renewed competition for his No.9 shirt from Henry Pyrgos, who has started both of the friendlies with Sale Sharks and Exeter Chiefs.

And the arrival of Fiji scrum-half Nikola Matawalu, from the Navy Rugby Club, will further turn the heat up on the Scotland international.

He said: "Henry and I worked very closely last season and he made huge strides.

"I hope he can continue to do so and I think if you look at it from the demands of a long season over two competitive fronts in the PRO12 and the Heineken Cup, the more competition we have for every jersey the better.

"Now we are looking forward to Nikola coming in and turning things up again and I would like to think that will bring the best out in me. But I want to be playing regularly and as well as I can with Glasgow. Hopefully that can start at Ravenhill against Ulster next Friday."

When it comes to setting targets for the coming campaign, Cus has adopted a pragmatic approach.

He said: "If you look back at last season, we were a hard team to beat and it is vital that we stay that way.

"But Gregor Townsend has had the boys working very hard with the emphasis on upping the tempo of our attacking game and if we can find that extra dimension on the front foot and marry it to what we had last season defensively, then I would say that will be ideal."