Huw Jones’ return to action has been a timeous one but for a spell there was a real danger that he might not be back at all this season.
The centre snapped a tendon in a finger during Scotland’s final Six Nations match against Ireland in March, a seemingly relatively innocuous injury but one that has required surgery and careful rehabilitation.
Putting a timeframe on his potential comeback was tricky initially given the unconventional nature of the setback, with Jones admitting he did wonder for a while whether it would be next season before he could return to the fray.
Happily, the finger has healed up quicker than feared, allowing Jones to slot back in nicely to the Glasgow Warriors line-up last weekend to replace the unfortunate Stafford McDowall whose hand infection looks like bringing his campaign to a premature close.
The much-vaunted 'Huwipulotu' midfield pairing of Jones and Sione Tuipulotu will likely get another airing on Saturday evening when Warriors welcome the Stormers to Scotstoun for their United Rugby Championship (URC) quarter-final.
Jones is happy to be thrust back into the melee at such a crucial part of the season.
“It’s great to be back,” he confirmed. “It felt like it had been quite a long time, actually. But it’s great to be back on the field and back in training.
“[The injury] happened just before half-time against Ireland in a tackle. I snapped a tendon in the ring finger of my right hand.
"They taped it up for the second half and it was okay but it was one of those where you see someone like Ryan Wilson’s fingers and they’re all messed up!
"I wanted mine to be back to normal so I got the surgery. It’s taken a while for it to heal, but it’s healed well and it’s feeling good. It was [touch and go on his return this season] at the beginning.
"We weren’t really sure how it was going to heal up but it went well. The good thing was that there was nothing wrong with my legs so I could still run and stay fit. It was just whether I could get back to catch, pass and do contact with enough time to play again.
“Generally with sports people you recover quicker than the average person. I managed to get the rehab done and it’s strong enough to play. The tape [around his fingers] is more preventative than anything else.
"I’m back to grip strength and down/ups, tackles, whatever - it all feels natural. Stafford getting his hand injury may have accelerated that but it allowed me a chance to play before the play-offs. Hopefully he’s back soon.”
Having Jones back is a considerable boon for Glasgow ahead of the visit of his former club to Scotstoun on Saturday night.
Stormers have enjoyed a spectacular start to life in the URC – winning the 2022 edition and finishing as runners-up last year – but Warriors have had their number at home, triumphant in the teams’ two matches at Scotstoun in 2023. Jones, though, is expecting another tough battle.
“In those games we’ve played well and got our physicality right,” he recalled.
“They have some really good carriers in their forwards and our defence in those games was brilliant.
“We’ve got to be solid at set-piece and with their backs, they have a lot of danger men. It’s about us staying connected and mopping anything up then, and we also know that they will come with quite a hard blitz defence so we need to hold our feet and hit the line at the right time.
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“With a blitz defence it’s high risk/high reward, so we know that if we get things right and our accuracy is good, there will be line breaks for us. But if we get it wrong, they can hit us behind the gainline, so there are opportunities for both teams. In the past, we’ve taken them here and we’re obviously looking to do that again this week.”
Warriors were less than convincing against Zebre in Jones’ comeback match last weekend but he believes it ought to serve as a reminder that they won’t always get their own way at home.
“It was probably the kick up the a*** we needed,” he added. “We can’t take things for granted when we play at home. We’ve had an unbeaten [league] season at home, but you can’t go into games thinking it’s going to be easy just because you are here.
“We’re under no illusions that it is going to be a really tough game. We are at home, which is great for us - we’ve got our support, but we’ve still got to come out and get things right. We’ve got to be on it this week - better than last week for sure - but we’ve got a plan, and it’s all about training that and executing it at the weekend.”
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