The personal accolade of becoming the first Scot to win the Six Nations player of the championship award represented a remarkable achievement but after receiving his prize Stuart Hogg insisted that his sights are principally set on team goals.

In a season that saw England win a Grand Slam it was extraordinary that a player who was part of a side that lost more games than it won was voted as the competition’s outstanding individual.

However the 23-year-old sought to share the credit with his team-mates, albeit he also challenged them to turn improved performances into better results in the year ahead and, in particular, next season’s Six Nations.

“I’m obviously chuffed to bits to win it but that goes down to the team,” he said.

“I’ve played in a fantastic Scotland team over the last few weeks. Vern (Cotter, the Scotland coach) is big on everybody doing their own jobs, so I guess I must have done mine right.

“We worked incredibly hard in the lead-up to the Six Nations and to get a couple of important victories was exactly what we were after, but for us now that’s the minimum standards,” said Hogg, who identified his try against Ireland as his individual highlight.

“We’ll continue to work hard individually and collectively and hopefully this time next year we’ll have a trophy in our hands.”

Some 17 years having elapsed since Scotland won a major tournament Hogg now turns his attention to the retention of the one significant piece of silverware any Scottish team has won in the interim as he and his Glasgow Warriors colleagues look to retain their Pro12 title.

Their management’s desperation to avoid last season’s success being seen as a blip is demonstrated in the selection of a team to meet Ulster at Scotstoun which includes 18 players who were involved in Scotland duty across the championship.

Jonny Gray, has recovered from a chest injury to lead the side while Finn Russell, who also missed the trip to Ireland because he was going through the head injury protocols, returns at stand off in the strongest looking team the Warriors have fielded this season.

“It’s great to be back with the Glasgow boys,” said Hogg.

“We’ve got a trophy to retain this season, so it’s going to be tough for us, but I’m very much looking forward to tomorrow night. I’m ready to play.

“A few of the Ulster boys played last week so we need to get tone over on them but in terms of our performance we’re sixth in the table, they’re above us and it’s a massive test for us.”

With only two of their six remaining matches at home and trips to leaders Connacht and the third placed Scarlets still to be negotiated, a win over Ulster looks vital and Hogg knows that after a series of near misses at international and club level, they need to finish on a high.

“These are the games that will define our season,” he said.

“We’ve got a tough run in but we’re very much excited for tomorrow evening. We know what’s at stake and a win tomorrow night would put us in a very good position going into the last few weeks.”