He may have been raised in England but Huw Jones is fast turning into a Scotland great each time he pulls on the famous blue jersey.
The 24-year-old centre was identified by England as a major threat in the build-up to the Calcutta Cup two weeks ago but they could not prevent him scoring two tries in their famous 25-13 win – taking his tally to a remarkable ten from 14 Tests.
It was the latest in a series of eye-catching displays which has taken Jones from squad member to international superstar.
He is now as integral to Scotland as fly-half Finn Russell and full-back Stuart Hogg and Ireland will be need a firm plan in place to stop him on Saturday.
“Jones has emerged from leftfield, so far away from the ‘talent pathways’ laid out by major unions that he was barely on the map,” former England centre Jeremy Guscott told the BBC.
“He is only 24 but, with fellow Glasgow players to make him feel comfortable in the Scotland backline, he has immediately made himself at home in international rugby.
“He is not a heavyweight centre in modern terms, but he has shown that with speed of thought and foot you don’t need to be built like a weightlifter to prosper at this level.”
And prospering he is. The centre seems to come alive in the biggest matches. His double at BT Murrayfield took his personal tally against England to four tries in two NatWest 6 Nations games, while not even the southern hemisphere giants could stop him.
Samoa, Australia and New Zealand all failed to prevent him dotting down in the autumn.
“Whenever I score one, I just want to get another one because there’s no feeling in the world like the feeling you get scoring a try for your country,” he said after running England ragged.
“Against England, as soon as I sneaked that first one, I was on the hunt for another, and then another one after that.
“I almost got one in the second half, too. If you’re in the position to be greedy, you take it. When you get an opportunity, that white line fever kicks in. If you can make it, you make it.”
As exceptional as Jones’ try-scoring stats are though, he is far from one a one-tricky centre and his defence is undoubtedly as good as his attack. Against England he made 13 tackles, second only to Jonny Gray in the Scotland ranks.
Saturday’s clash in Dublin will see Jones come up another young, talented centre in Ireland’s Garry Ringrose – a clash of two of the world’s best young No.13s.
Whoever comes out on top of their personal dual is likely to be on the winning side, such is their importance to the team.
It shows how far Jones has come in such a short space of time. Only two years ago he was unknown but now he is the name on everyone’s lips.
