Huw Richard Forbes Jones (born 17 December 1993) is a Scottish international rugby union player who plays as a centre, although he can also play as a full-back or winger. He is in his second spell playing for Glasgow Warriors, having spent the 2021–22 season playing in England for Harlequins.
Background
Jones was born in Leith in Edinburgh in the Eastern General Hospital to parents Bill and Hillary. At the time of Jones' birth, his father coached at George Watson's College where Scott Hastings was among those he coached. His parents had previously studied at Edinburgh University.[1] Jones' maternal grandfather is also Scottish. His father has Welsh heritage reflected in the name, Huw Jones.[2]
When he was two years old his family moved from Musselburgh to Kent. Jones was later schooled at Millfield in Somerset.[1]
Club career
False Bay and UCT Ikey Tigers
After finishing his schooling, Jones moved to South Africa for his gap year where he worked at Bishops Preparatory School in Cape Town. He played club rugby for False Bay in 2013 and after the club's Director of Rugby, Kevin Musikanth, was appointed as head coach of the UCT Ikey TigersVarsity Cup side, Jones followed Musikanth by enrolling at the University of Cape Town for 2014.[3] He made a total of nine appearances for UCT during the 2014 Varsity Cup competition, scoring a try in their match against UP Tuks[4] as UCT finished second in the pool stage.[5] 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 to 15 down with five minutes to go to achieve a 39–33 victory[6] 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 team, 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.[7] He also started the final group game of the competition against the SWD Eagles in George.[8]
In 2015, Jones was included in the Stormers wider training group prior to the 2015 Super Rugby season.[10] He scored a try in a trial match against the Cheetahs[11] and was also included in their final squad.[12] He was named on the bench for the 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.[13] He also came off the bench in the next five matches, playing less than ten minutes on each occasion. He was promoted to the starting lineup for the Round Eight match against New Zealand side the Hurricanes in Wellington, starting at outside centre. In the 64th minute, Jones scored his first Super Rugby try, but it was not enough as the home side won 25–20.[14] 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 the final match of the regular season, a 12–34 defeat to the Sharks.[15] The Stormers finished top of the South African Conference[16] to qualify for the finals, but Jones was not involved in their 19–39 defeat to the Brumbies in the eliminating qualifier.[17]
He was included in Western Province's squad for the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division and made his Currie Cup debut in the Round Three match away to the Blue Bulls, playing off the bench in a 29–47 defeat.[18] He made his first start three weeks later against the Sharks,[19] the start of an extended run in the team that saw him make four starts and four appearances as a replacement during the competition, scoring one try in the home match against the Blue Bulls.[20] The final two of these appearances occurred in the play-offs after Western Province finished third on the log during the regular season;[21] a last-minute substitute appearance in their 23–18 victory over the Blue Bulls in their semi-final match[22] was followed by another appearance off the bench in the final, which the Golden Lions won 32–24 in Johannesburg.[23]
On 28 October 2017 Jones scored two tries in a Man of the Match farewell performance as Western Province beat the Natal Sharks in the final to win the 2017 Currie Cup.[24]
Glasgow Warriors
Jones has stated that he always felt Scottish. He has kept a saltire above his bed since he was 11. When Jones started playing for the University of Cape Town he insisted on being referred to as Scottish.[2] A saltire next to his name caught the attention of Gavin Vaughan of Glasgow Warriors when he was watching a televised game from South Africa in which Jones was playing.[25] According to some sources it seems it was a Wikipediaarticle that allowed Gavin Vaughan to see that Huw Jones was Scottish.[26]
In February 2017, it was announced that the 2017 Super Rugby season would be Jones' last for the Stormers before he returned to Scotland.[24] He joined Warriors 10 months later midway through the 2017-18 after the Currie Cup Final in South Africa.[27]
On 25 December 2017, Glasgow Warriors announced that Jones had signed a contract until at least 2021. Jones cited the world class coaching as one of the reasons behind his decision.[29]
Harlequins
On 26 February 2021, it was confirmed that Jones would leave Glasgow to travel to France to sign for Top 14 side Bayonne ahead of the 2021–22 season.[30] However the move to Bayonne fell through when the French club were relegated to Rugby Pro D2. He signed for English side Harlequins in the Premiership Rugby for the 2021-22 season.[31]
International career
In May 2016, Jones was called up to the Scotland squad and made his Test debut during their 2016 summer tour of Japan.[32] In November 2016 he played his first home match for Scotland against Australia, scoring two tries in the narrow defeat.[33]
Jones played in the opening 3 matches of the 2019 Six Nations Championship but was injured in Scotland's loss to Ireland and was ruled out for the remainder of the tournament.[36]
Australia
England
Samoa
New Zealand
France
Ireland
Italy
