Stormers centre Jones called into Scotland squad

Scotland have added Stormers centre Huw Jones to their 27-man touring squad for next month’s summer tour to Japan.

Born in Edinburgh and educated at Millfield School in Somerset, the uncapped 22-year-old replaces Glasgow Warriors stand-off Finn Russell, who sustained a head injury in the Guinness PRO12 Play-Off in Galway last weekend.

Despite being schooled south of the border, it was a gap year to South Africa in 2012 that sparked Jones’ rugby career, after he elected to stay and study at the University of Cape Town, winning the Varsity Cup in 2014 and scoring in the final.

He was then selected for Western Province, first in the under-21 squad and then the senior Vodacom Cup team, before being called up for the Stormers last year and making 21 appearances to date.

Jones said: “I’m delighted to get this opportunity to play for Scotland. It’s a dream come true.

“I didn’t go out 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.

Profile:Huw Jones (22, centre)
Born: 17/12/1993 in Edinburgh
Club: Stormers
Height: 1.86 m
Weight: 96 kg