AFTER Huw Jones at last showed the Scotstoun crowd that he could produce the same form in front of them that he regularly manages for Scotland, he admitted it had taken a weight off his shoulders.
The 25-year-old centre has been ripping up the turf in international colours but when it comes to club games, it has been more a case of waiting to see what all the fuss was about.
He finally showed that last weekend against the Dragons when he scored one try with a delightful outside break, rounding the Welsh club's wing on his way to the line, and created a number of threatening attacks his team-mates could not quite finish.
In all, he produced eight clean breaks, which would have equalled the Guinness PRO14 record had it not been for an even more outstanding game by Adam Hastings, who set a new top mark of 11 breaks in the same game.
"Getting a good game here has been quite nice for my confidence," Jones admitted. "I’ve never really felt that confident in a Glasgow shirt, so it was nice to settle the nerves a bit, especially at home. I’m looking forward to the upcoming games.
"I still get nervous with every game I play. This was my first actual pretty good performance for Glasgow so I have felt that the pressure has been on.
"The fans expect, the coaches expect and, obviously, I expect, a lot from myself. I set myself high standards and if I don’t meet those then I get disappointed about it – so I do put a little bit of pressure on myself."
It has been tough for Jones, who was capped by Scotland when he was still playing in South Africa – he was born in Scotland – and he has still played more matches for the national side – 16 caps – than the club side – 10 games.
When he eventually arrived in Scotland last season at the end of a successful Currie Cup campaign for the Western Stormers in Cape Town, Jones was thrust straight into the Scotland squad for the November internationals and did not make his Glasgow debut until the following month.
"It was really stop-start," he explained. "I came in halfway through the season, my first game here [at Scotstoun] was against Montpellier when we didn’t really play that well
"Then I think we hit a little bit of a bad run of form – I wasn’t playing my best rugby – then I went away to the Six Nations, and when I came back I got an injury and didn’t play again for the rest of the season.
"I put all my energy into the end of the South African season and the Currie Cup, then came over here and straight into the autumn Tests so I gave everything there. It was another step then to try and gel here with a new club – it didn’t really work at the time."
He missed end of the season after getting a bang on the head and then the Scotland summer tour to have surgery on an injured wrist and made his return to action on Glasgow's mixed trip to South Africa, coming off the bench as they trashed the Cheetahs but starting in the defeat to the Kings.
"I’m feeling good – the wrist is fine, so I am feeling fit," Jones said. "I was able to do plenty even when I wasn’t allowed to do contact or catch-and-pass during pre-season. I did a lot of cycling, a lot of running so my fitness is fine.
"I’ve not had many but I’d say that [the Dragons game] was probably my best performance for Glasgow so far. It was good to get out there and secure a nice win."
Even better from the point of view of the club and player, he is showing his best form just as they build up to the clash with Saracens in the Heineken Champions Cup and just a few days before the Scotland squad for the November Tests is due to be announced.
Also of interest to both Dave Rennie, the Glasgow Warriors coach, and Gregor Townsend, his Scotland equivalent, is seeing how effective the partnership with Aled Dunbar turned to to be.
They have played together at Test level but this was only the third time the duo had been seen together at club level.
"Having been at the club for a year, everyone is familiar. It obviously helps playing with Alex [Dunbar] I’ve played with him quite a few times," Jones added. "We’re both slightly different players, and our strengths put together makes for quite a good partnership."
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