Every time I pull on a Glasgow shirt it’s an honour – Hughes

“It was really good to be back at Scotstoun.”

Speaking a
couple of days after his side’s 36-33 win over Ulster, Glasgow Warriors winger
Rory Hughes is still as enthusiastic about the return of rugby to Glasgow’s
west end as he was prior to Saturday’s kick-off.

The man from
Castlemilk marked his first run-out of the new campaign with an eye-catching
try to boot, finishing off a clinical counter-attack in the closing stages of
the first-half.

“It was a
strange one really – Shuggy [Huw Jones] made a line break and it just sort of opened
up,” explained Hughes to glasgowwarriors.org.

“It was a
two-on-one with the full-back and I ended up in acres of space, so I just
pinned my ears back and went for it.

“The photos
of the try were a nice bonus too – I pull some weird faces when I’m running, tongue
out, the whole thing! The ones from Saturday look really good though,
thankfully.”

Victory in
their final pre-season fixture sets Hughes and his team-mates up well for the
opening Guinness PRO14 match of the new season, which will see the Warriors
take on the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Friday 27 September. The Glasgow
flyer is quick to emphasise the fact that improvements still need to be made,
however, as Dave Rennie’s men prepare for the flight to South Africa.

“We wanted
to respond well after a disappointing result in Belfast,” said Hughes.

“Ulster are
a good team but when we play at home, we want to make sure it’s a tough place
to come and win.

“Winning at
home is always a good start, but we know there’s still a bit to work on defensively
– conceding 33 points at home isn’t something we want to continue to do.

“We’ve done
a lot of reviewing on what we did well, what we need to improve and what we
need to focus on ahead of the Cheetahs match.”

For Hughes,
however, being back in a Warriors jersey ahead of the new season is all the
motivation he needs to be fully firing for the challenge in Bloemfontein.

“Every time
I pull on a Glasgow shirt, it’s an honour for me,” said Hughes.

“Regardless
of the occasion, regardless of the competition, I always want to give my all
for this club.

“We know it’ll
be tough in South Africa – the altitude and the heat are always tricky and they’re
a good side.

“It’s going
to be a good test for us and I can’t wait.”