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Scotland centre Huw Jones to join Bayonne
By Jamie Lyall
Scotland centre Huw Jones will leave Glasgow for Top 14 side Bayonne at the end of the season. The 27-year-old's Warriors contract expires in the summer, and he has agreed a deal with the French club.
Glasgow had been keen to retain Jones, who has been deployed at full-back for much of the campaign, but he has long wanted to play in France.
In July, he told The XV: "I'd really love to experience the Top 14, I've always wanted to play there. I have a lot of work this season to get my value back up to where it was a season ago. Top 14 would be first prize if I wanted to leave."
Jones initially struggled to acquit himself as brilliantly for Glasgow as he did in the early throes of his Scotland career when he moved to Scotstoun from the Stormers in 2017. He felt that team-mates and coaches falsely thought him disinterested, and struggled to build a relationship with former head coach Dave Rennie.
Two years ago, he came close to leaving for Leicester Tigers at the end of his previous contract. In December 2019, he tried to engineer a loan move back to Cape Town which Warriors would not sanction.
However, Jones has been far happier and more at ease under Danny Wilson, returning to the Scotland squad in the autumn to win his 26th cap off the bench in the Nations Cup play-off defeat by Ireland, and featuring in the opening rounds of the Six Nations.
Bayonne sit 13th in the Top 14 with six wins from their 16 matches. The club were formerly captained by ex-Scotland and Glasgow number eight Johnnie Beattie, who retired after helping them to promotion in 2019.
Glasgow recently secured the signings of former New Zealand age-grade back-three players Cole Forbes and Josh McKay, and handed academy graduate Ollie Smith a new deal.
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That’s why we threw that game against you in the pool stages by playing Libbok at 10 who couldn’t split the uprights for love or money.
Go to commentsSo sad and sorry to hear yesterday about Alex Wyllies passing. When I first went to Lancaster Park , Grizz was the captain and no8. A fearsome legend. His time coaching Canterbury 1982-86 , was one of the highlights of my life. 82-85 , was Canterbury’s record equalling Ranfurly Shield era, culminating in the “Match of the Century” , when we lost it to Auckland . I was at that game and the rest, it was one for the ages. Inspired by Grizz Canterbury nearly won it, after being 24-0 down. In 1986 Canterbury thrashed the touring Wallabies, who went on to beat the All Blacks 2-1 in that test series.Alex Wyllie inspired 2 of the players who were huge parts of his Shield team, to become great coaches in there own right. They are of course , Wayne Smith and Robbie Deans . Canterbury /Crusaders and international legends. Robbie Deans was the goal kicking hero on many occasion in that era, none more than when he kicked the equalizing penalty against Counties in the first up Shield challenge, a game I was at. As with the rest of those games. Wayne Smith scored the try to claim the Shield in Wellington a week earlier It was a pleasure to meet Grizz on a number of occasions. Rest in peace Grizz. A red and black legend , first class. He was also an All Black and one of our greatest AB coaches.
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