Huw Jones (rugby union)

Huw Richard Forbes Jones (born 17 December 1993) is a Scottish rugby union player, currently playing Super Rugby with South African side the Stormers and Currie Cup rugby with Western Province.^[1] His regular position is outside centre, but he can also play as a full-back or winger.

Rugby career

False Bay and UCT Ikey Tigers

After finishing his schooling at Millfield in Somerset, Jones moved to South Africa where he worked at Bishops Preparatory School in Cape Town for his gap year. He played club rugby for False Bay in 2013 and after the club's Director of Rugby Kevin Musikanth was appointed as the head coach of the UCT Ikey Tigers Varsity Cup side, Jones followed Musikanth by enrolling at the University of Cape Town for 2014.^[2] He made a total of nine appearances for UCT during the 2014 Varsity Cup competition, scoring a try in their match against UP Tuks^[3] as UCT finished second in the pool stage.^[4] After beating Western Cape rivals Maties in the semi-finals, the UCT Ikey Tigers won the final against NWU Pukke in Potchefstroom. Jones opened the scoring for the visitors by scoring a try in the fourth minute and helped them clinch the title in dramatic fashion as they fought back from 33–15 down with five minutes to go to achieve a 39–33 victory^[5] to win the competition for the second time.

Western Province/Stormers

On the back of his performances for the UCT Ikey Tigers during the 2014 Varsity Cup, Jones was called up to the Vodacom Cup side of local provincial side, Western Province. He made his first class debut for them during the 2014 Vodacom Cup competition, starting in their match against the Free State XV in Round Six of the competition. He took just eleven minutes to score his first try at senior level, setting Western Province on their way to a 28–15 victory.^[6] He also started their final group game of the competition against the SWD Eagles in George.^[7]

In the latter half of 2014, he appeared for the Western Province U21 side in the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship, making three starts and scoring two tries in their match against the Sharks U21 side in Durban.^[8]

In 2015, Jones was included in the Stormers wider training group prior to the 2015 Super Rugby season.^[9] He scored a try in a trial match against the Cheetahs^[10] and was also included in their final squad.^[11] He was named on the bench for their opening match of the competition against the Bulls in Pretoria and came on as a replacement in the final minute of the match to make his Super Rugby debut.^[12] He also played off the bench in their next five matches, playing less than ten minutes on each occasion. He was promoted to the starting lineup for their Round Eight match against New Zealand side the Hurricanes in Wellington, starting in the outside centre position. In the 64th minute of the match, Jones scored his first Super Rugby try, but it was not enough as the home side won 25–20.^[13] He reverted to his role as a replacement for the Stormers, making a further six appearances off the bench throughout the remainder of the competition before starting their final match of the regular season, a 12–34 defeat to the Sharks.^[14] The Stormers finished top of the South African Conference^[15] to qualify for the finals, but Jones was not involved in their 19–39 defeat to the Brumbies in the qualifier to be eliminated from the competition.^[16]

He was included in Western Province's squad for the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division and made his Currie Cup debut in their Round Three match away to the Blue Bulls, playing off the bench in a 29–47 defeat.^[17] He made his first start three weeks later against the Sharks,^[18] the start of an extended run in the team that saw him make a total of four starts and four appearances as a replacement during the competition, scoring one try in their home match against the Blue Bulls.^[19] The final two of these appearances occurred in the play-offs after Western Province finished third on the log during the regular season;^[20] a last-minute substitute appearance in their 23–18 victory over the Blue Bulls in their semi-final match^[21] was followed by another appearance off the bench in the final, which the Golden Lions won 32–24 in Johannesburg.^[22]

Jones was once again involved in the Stormers' 2016 Super Rugby season, making six appearances off the bench prior to the international break, during which time he earned his first international call-up for Scotland.

International

In May 2016, Jones was called up to the Scotland squad for their 2016 summer tour of Japan.^[23]

In November 2016, Jones played for Scotland against the Australia national rugby union team, scoring the first try of the match. He followed this with Scotland's second try in the first half. He was subsequently named "Man of the Match".

References