DTH van der Merwe is hoping to pick up where he left off at Glasgow Warriors, contributing to a successful season after returning to the club.

Van der Merwe left Warriors three years ago after Warriors won the Grand Final against Munster and has spent three years in Wales and England with Scarlets and Newcastle.

He's now returned to Glasgow to be reunited with a Warriors side which sit top of their conference and he's aiming for glory once again.

"It was special when I left because we won it and it was the first time, but the club and players have really put themselves in a good position right at the top of the table with a bit of breathing room," he said.

"Now we have to push on for the last five games to make sure we get that top seed."

After only playing a handful of games at Newcastle, he says international rugby has helped him regain sharpness and is ready to go into the team against Zebre this weekend.

"I didn't play too much at Newcastle, but I got four games for Canada in January/February so my game fitness is up there and I've had a good training week," he said. "I'm slowly building into the Zebre game and looking forward to it."

Van Der Merwe acknowledged the changes in his time away, noting the rapid development of some of the young players who have gone on to become key figures over the last couple of years, and he says that's proof that Warriors are on the right track.

"Some of those (Scotland) boys like Zander (Fagerson) and Ali (Price) were just academy players or coming through the system and making their first starts for Glasgow," he said.

"Now they're well proven as Glasgow's number one players but also playing for Scotland which is really exciting.

"It shows the quality this club is producing with the youngsters.".