Huw Jones is keen to cement his place in Scotland’s starting line up after getting recalled to the national squad for the 2020 Guinness Six Nations.
The centre missed out on selection for the 2019 World Cup and had all but accepted that he would be watching this year’s Championship at home, until a recent flurry of appearances for Glasgow Warriors around the turn of the year.
Jones seized his chance in the Warriors’ side with some impressive performances, including scoring an early try in the 31-31 draw with Exeter Chiefs in the Champions Cup in early January.
And heading into Saturday’s opening match against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium, he is hoping to make the most of his second chance in Gregor Townsend’s squad.
“There was a point about a month ago when I thought I wouldn’t be involved and I was accepting of that,” Jones said. “But I went from not playing a lot at Glasgow to getting about three or four games in a row. That is basically what I had been after for a while, and I got it.
“I felt I did quite well and at that point I thought that maybe I could get back into the squad. Before I got that run of games I wasn’t really sure.
“I didn’t hear from Gregor until I made the squad. He said he thought I had gone pretty well in recent weeks and that it was good to see me playing again and that he was looking forward to seeing what I would do in camp.”
Defeats to Ireland and hosts Japan saw Scotland eliminated in the pool stage in the World Cup, and Townsend’s side will be looking to bounce back from that disappointment with a strong showing over the next six weeks.
The performances of Jones could be key to their success in Dublin this weekend, and after missing out on the trip to Tokyo last autumn, he believes his game has improved both with and without the ball.
“Centre is one of the positions in the modern game where there’s a lot demanded of you,” the 26-year-old added. “You have to be physical, you’ve got to be quick, be a good defender, a good attacker, and at a high standard at international level. You can’t really be a one-dimensional player anymore.
“Maybe a couple of seasons ago I was all about attack and maybe that’s why I didn’t get selected for the World Cup. Off the back of that I’ve become a more rounded player and hopefully that will see me stay in the jersey for as long as I can.
“I’ve been working with (defence coach) Kenny Murray at Glasgow and he’s seen improvements there. The new defence coach here, Steve Tandy, has brought in a slightly different system which I am really enjoying and I think it suits me a bit better.”
