HUW Jones has set his sights on winning a trophy in Scotland colours after the career high of lifting the United Rugby Championship (URC) with Glasgow Warriors.

Jones, who missed two months with a hand injury before returning for the play-offs, played a key role in the wins over Munster and Bulls as the Warriors stormed to the title.

His break set up Sebastian Cancelliere for the decisive try at Thomond Park in the semi-final, while Jones got Glasgow’s third score in an astonishing comeback at Loftus Versfeld to lift the title.

As the Warriors celebrated with their supporters at Scotstoun last week, Jones reflected on their achievement.

He said: “It feels incredible. After the final whistle, there was a mix of relief and elation, a whole lot of emotion.

“Everyone has worked so hard all season and it’s just an incredible feeling. I’m so proud of what we have achieved together as a club and as a team. It’s just brilliant.”

On the win, Jones said: “Getting that try before half-time was huge. It kept us in the game and probably took a bit of the wind out of their sails going into half-time.

“In the second half, we produced a mature, controlled performance, took the points when we needed to and held out with our defence.

“The maul defence was incredible, and a couple of those defensive sets around halfway towards the end of the game – that’s what wins championships and those big games. Being able to keep teams out in those key moments.”

In his early career, Jones’ own defensive game came in for some criticism. He acknowledged it was an area where he had improved immeasurably in recent years.

“Peter Murchie [Glasgow’s defence coach] and Steve Tandy [Scotland defence coach] have helped me personally and the teams as well,” Jones said.

“We defend so much better as a unit and so we’re a very difficult team to break down.”

Jones, who returned to Glasgow in 2021 having spent a single season at Harlequins, was heavily linked with a move away this summer.

There were discussions with clubs in France but Jones re-signed with the Warriors determined to win a trophy with the club he first joined from Stormers – the South African side that Glasgow dispatched in the quarter-final – back in 2017.

Musselburgh-born Jones said: “The fact we have done it this year is amazing, and also gives me another two years to win it twice more.

“We were saying that we don’t want this to be the end, the pinnacle. This is the start of something.

“We’ve got a great squad profile in terms of age, we’ve got a lot of young players who have played a lot this season. It’s been a huge squad effort – so many players have had to step in because we’ve had loads of injuries, and that’s going to be massive for us going forward.

“The amount of experience those young guys have got this season is going to make them so much better next season. We’d love to go on and repeat this, and potentially more. We’d like this to be the start of something.”

After singing the praises of head coach Franco Smith, Jones revealed that the Warriors boss stuck to his promise of a “wee dram” of whisky and a cigar.

“We broke out the cigars when we got back to the hotel, which was pretty fun,” Jones said.

“We had a huge celebration at the hotel after the game, a little bit more at lunch the next day, then a long flight back.”

Jones and the rest of the Warriors who started the final were given the week off by Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend before flying to Canada at the weekend for the start of a four-week tour.

Jones, who will likely win his 50th cap on the trip, is looking forward to another long-haul with so many of his Warriors colleagues.

He said: “We are all massively excited for the summer tour.

“There are loads of us going, a lot of new guys, which is really exciting for them.

“For those of us who have played before, it’s a great opportunity to keep the momentum going for Scotland.”

Turning his attentions to the national team, Jones said: “For years we’ve been a team that can win big games but can’t often string them together.

“Look at our Six Nations over the last few years – we’ve won some of the big games but not managed to get enough to go on and win the championship.

“This is huge, the fact that [Warriors] went three big games in a row and won them all. If we can take that feeling and that control into the Scotland camp – and there are a lot of boys from here going in – it will be massively beneficial for Scotland going forward.”

He said that winning a trophy with Scotland was the next target.

Jones said: “We go into every Six Nations with the aim of winning it but, now that we’ve done it here with Glasgow, this group of players is a big part of the Scotland team so hopefully we can take that experience, put it into the Scotland shirt and hopefully turn it into winning silverware.”

And he said that the URC title win with Warriors had been the highlight of his career so far.

Jones said: “Winning a league is huge because it shows the graft from the whole squad and the sacrifice you’ve made over a whole season.

“I’ve been a part of some big wins in the past, but winning the league, and in the fashion we did it, winning three big games in a row, two of them away against very tough opposition, it’s huge.

“This is definitely my career highlight – so far. Hopefully we can go on and do more.”