Huw Jones is only now feeling confident in a Glasgow jersey
Now, after getting a proper chance to recharge his batteries during the summer, and having fully recovered from the wrist surgery which kept him out of the first fortnight of the current season, he says he is fighting fit and raring to go.
He reckons his performance against the Dragons on Saturday night was his best yet for the club and is determined to build on that as a season-defining European showdown against English giants Saracens looms over the horizon.
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Hide Ad“I’ve never really felt that confident in a Glasgow shirt, so it was quite nice to settle the nerves a bit, especially at home,” he said. “Now I’m looking forward to the up-coming games.”
Jones, pictured, scored a try as the Warriors defeated the Welsh side 29-13 at Scotstoun and the outside centre hopes to use it as a springboard to a sustained run of form.
“The fans expect, the coaches expect and, obviously, I expect a lot from myself,” he continued. “I set myself quite high standards and if I don’t meet those then I get pretty disappointed about it. That was my first actual pretty good performance for Glasgow, so I have felt that the pressure has been on.
“I had put all my energy into the end of the South African season and the Currie Cup, then came over here and went straight into the Autumn Tests so gave everything there, and it was another step then to try and gel here with a new club – it didn’t really work at the time.
“My first game was here [at Scotstoun] against Montpellier when we didn’t really play that well, and after that we hit a bad run of form when I wasn’t playing my best rugby. Then I went away to the Six Nations, and when I came back I got an injury which meant I didn’t play again for the rest of the season.
“It was a very stop-start season, which was really frustrating, so it has been great to have an almost full pre-season [ahead of the 2017-18 campaign]. Obviously, I had wrist surgery, but I was able to do plenty even when I wasn’t allowed to do contact or catch-and-pass – things like cycling and running – so my fitness is fine. And to come back from that and get a couple of games under my belt has been really good.”
The Warriors play Zebre at Scotstoun in the Pro14 on Friday night, before hosting the Saracens in the European Champions Cup on 14 October, followed by a trip to Wales to take on Cardiff Blues seven days later in the same competition.