1
What written judgement said about Alex Mann's role in gouging saga
11
{{item.n}}
The damaging untruth that dogged the career of Huw Jones
By Ian Cameron reporting from Melbourne
Centre Huw Jones looks on course to start again for the British & Irish Lions in the second Test against Australia in Melbourne after an assured performance in Brisbane – a development that marks a remarkable personal resurgence after years on the outer edge of selection conversations.
ADVERTISEMENT
Jones has always been a destructive runner with an eye for the line but his career has also been dogged by certain negative perceptions. The 31-year-old was unfairly typecast as a luxury player – someone who was flash on front-foot but at times “disinterested”.
The truth lay elsewhere, obscured for years by a damaging early perception: that he didn’t look like he cared.
That label was first applied in childhood. A Kent Under-10s cricket coach dropped Jones because he “just didn’t look interested”.
As Jones told RugbyPass in 2020: “It’s the same now. I try to cover it up with this happy-go-lucky persona.”
That throwaway judgement became a slow-burning career sleight that would rear its head from time to time, haunting Jones from South Africa to Glasgow to the fringes of the Scotland squad.
It followed him even during his international breakthrough. Jones scored memorable tries against the All Blacks, Australia and England – including a stunning brace in the 2018 Calcutta Cup win – yet found himself frozen out at Glasgow during Dave Rennie’s tenure.
ADVERTISEMENT
When Danny Wilson took over at Scotstoun, he inherited a squad short on depth, carrying injuries and unable to recruit. He needed players to adapt. Jones, maybe seen by some as aloof or particular, stepped forward.
“When we had injuries and a recruitment freeze during covid, I asked Huw about playing full-back,” Wilson told RugbyPass previously. “His answer was, ‘I don’t care where I play, I just want to be on the pitch’. That’s all you want to hear as a coach if you’ve got this awkward situation when you know a player needs exposure at 13 for his international career but you need him to play 15.”
It was a moment that punctured the long-standing myth about Jones’ attitude. The supposed prima donna was putting his hand up to fill gaps in a struggling team, away from his preferred position.
ADVERTISEMENT
“He wanted to be on the field,” Wilson continued, “and his hunger and zest to do that was proved in how well he played at 15. He could have said, ‘I only want to be considered as a 13’ – no chance, that wasn’t him.”
That willingness to adapt extended to Harlequins, where Jones spent a productive season covering both centre and full-back, before returning to Glasgow. Under Franco Smith, and reunited with Sione Tuipulotu, he rediscovered his rhythm and his confidence.
The chemistry between the two has since flourished at international level and now with the Lions.
“Huw’s relationship with Tuipulotu at the moment is world class,” said Dillyn Leyds, Jones’ former Stormers teammate, speaking to RugbyPass last year. “He’s one of the best line runners in the game today… You can see the Glasgow boys, they know when he’s got the ball you’ve always got to expect things will happen.”
Former Scotland great Scott Hastings added: “He creates that doubt inside you. He has this lovely ability to veer towards contact and that step gets him out because he’s got the pace and can leave that run so late.”
Under former Scotland defence coach Steve Tandy, who has just been named as Wales’ new head coach, Jones transformed his defensive output and mindset. “He accepted he had some work-ons in defence,” said Wilson. “Steve Tandy was excellent for Huw – his detail, his drive to make the team and Huw better defenders.”