Glasgow star who accepted his Scotland career was over set to hit 'special' milestone against Uruguay

There was a time not too long again when it seemed Huw Jones did not know when his next appearance for Glasgow would be, never mind his next Scotland cap. But now, following a welcome upturn in his fortunes, the 30-year-old centre is firmly re-established in the national side and is set to win his 50th cap against Uruguay in Montevideo on Saturday.

His experience of being out in the cold - in part because of injury, but perhaps primarily because former Warriors coach Dave Rennie appeared to have lost faith in him - has taught the centre to appreciate every moment with the national team all the more. And, as he looks ahead to reaching that landmark on Scotland’s last outing of their Americas tour, he is able to reflect with some justified satisfaction on his return to favour with Gregor Townsend’s squad.

“I’m really excited to be getting my 50th cap,” Jones said. “It’s been a long journey, lots of ups and downs. “It’s obviously a huge honour playing for your country, once, any time. But to be able to do it 50 times is a massive privilege and I’m super-proud of what I’ve achieved in my career to get to this point.

Huw Jones is set to win his 50th Scotland cap against Uruguay on Saturday. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

“It’s just really special. When I first came into the Scotland set-up, my first few caps, it was all straightforward. I played in the games, I was picked for the team - and then injuries, form, and not getting picked got in the way of that.

“I’ve had a fairly up-and-down career in that regard. So having been a fairly long lay-off away from Scotland a couple of years ago, I probably thought that I’d played my last game.

“I remember thinking at the time it was upsetting that my career hadn’t gone the way that I wanted it to and that it should have gone. But in a way I’d made peace with the fact that that was it - that was my international career over and I’d just focus on club rugby and enjoy playing club rugby for the rest of my career.

“I think the way you get back into the squad is by playing well, and in the end that’s what I did. But to be honest, to come back into the squad and play consistently over the last few years makes me appreciate every cap that I’ve got and not take it for granted at all.

“I don't believe I've lost any pace, I think I've gained in physicality and I think I'm probably in quite a good spot.”

At the start of this year, Jones was linked with a move to French club Montpellier, but turned it down to sign a new two-year contract with Glasgow instead. He believes his decision to stay put was vindicated by the team’s triumph in last month’s URC Grand Final, and after helping Franco Smith’s side to that success, he is hungry for more.

“I said at the time that a reason I wanted to stay was because we wanted to win something with Glasgow, and obviously we’ve achieved that,” he added. “But I remember saying after the final that we want that to just be the beginning and we want to win more. So I’ve got another two years to win more stuff, I guess.”

And another few years to win a lot more caps, we presume.

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