Glasgow Warriors lose another Scotland top dog as Huw Jones follows Adam Hastings to France

Like Adam Hastings, whose exit was announced on Monday, Jones is moving to France to play in the Top 14. The Scotland centre has signed a two-year contract with Toulon and will join the club in the summer.

Jones, 32, has just returned from a serious Achilles injury and made his first appearance of the season in the Warriors’ away win over Clermont-Auvergne on Saturday, scoring a try in the 33-21 Champions Cup victory.

He has been an outstanding player for both Glasgow and Scotland for almost a decade and won a call-up from the British and Irish Lions for the summer tour of Australia last year, starting all three Tests against the Wallabies and scoring a try in the series-clinching second Test win in Melbourne.

Third time lucky for France move

Jones, who has been capped 58 times by Scotland, is in his second spell at Glasgow and was a key player in the club’s United Rugby Championship-winning campaign in 2023-24, scoring a try against the Bulls in the final triumph at Loftus Versfeld.

Jones has twice been linked previously with moves to France. In 2021 he opted to join Harlequins from Glasgow after he had been expected to sign for Bayonne. He returned to Glasgow a year later and was again touted for a switch to France in 2024, with Montpellier and Bayonne interested in his services, but he ended up signing a new deal at Scotstoun.

He has now decided to try his luck in the Top 14, much to the delight of Laurent Emmanuelli, Toulon’s sporting director.

Invaluable assets

“The arrival of Huw Jones is the result of several months of groundwork,” said Emmanuelli. “He is an international-class player, a key member of his national team, who has long played at the highest European and world levels.

“His rugby skills, his high standards, and his experience will be invaluable assets to the team. He fits perfectly into our sporting project, which combines immediate performance with the development of our young players.”

Jones follows in the footsteps of his international team-mate Ben White who joined Toulon in 2023 and joins the burgeoning Scottish contingent in France’s top flight which also includes Blair Kinghorn, Jonny Gray, Ali Price, Stuart Hogg, Jamie Ritchie, Alex Masibaka and Ewan Johnson. Hastings is to join Price, Hogg and Masibaka at Montpellier next season.

The loss of Jones and Hastings will be keenly felt by Glasgow. Jones struck up a superb partnership with Sione Tuipulotu at the club which transferred successfully to both Scotland and the Lions.

A statement from Glasgow Warriors said: “The club wishes Jones the best for the future, and look forward to continuing to work with the centre for the remainder of the season.”