Scotland call on Jones
DHL Stormers centre Huw Jones has been called up to a 27-man Scotland squad for their tour to Japan in June.
Born in Edinburgh and educated at Millfield School in Somerset, the 22-year-old replaces Glasgow Warriors flyhalf Finn Russell, who sustained a head injury in the Guinness PRO12 Play-Off in Galway last weekend.
It was a gap year to South Africa in 2012 that sparked Jones’ rugby career, after he elected to stay and study at UCT, winning the Varsity Cup in 2014 and scoring in the final.
He was then selected for DHL Western Province, first in the Under-21 squad and then the senior Vodacom Cup team, before being called up for the DHL Stormers last year and making 21 appearances to date.
DHL Stormers Director of Rugby Gert Smal congratulated Jones who has spent his entire professional career to date at DHL Newlands.
“We are very proud of what Huw has achieved in his time here with us and would like to congratulate him on this achievement.
“His pathway to international rugby underlines how our environment encourages player development,” he said.
Jones said: “I’m delighted to get this opportunity to play for Scotland. It’s a dream come true.
“I didn’t come to South Africa with the intention of becoming a professional rugby player but, as my career progressed, it become more of a realistic goal to play for Scotland.
“The call came as a bit of a surprise but I’m thrilled and can’t wait to get to Edinburgh next month and play my part in an exciting squad.”
Scotland Head Coach, Vern Cotter, added: “We’re pleased to welcome Huw into the group and look forward to him deepening the competition in an already well-contested area of our squad.”
Jones and the rest of the Scotland squad will convene at BT Murrayfield Stadium on Monday 6 June for a short camp before their departure for Tokyo the following Saturday (11 June).
The Test matches will be played on consecutive Saturdays at J1 League football stadia; the first at the Toyota Stadium in Toyota City (18 June), the second at the Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo (25 June), homes of Nagoya Grampus and FC Tokyo respectively.
