‘I love playing with Sione’ – Huwipulotu ready for Springboks opener

Scotland centre Huw Jones is looking to use his impressive chemistry with centre partner Sione Tuipulotu to front up to the defending champion Springboks in their Rugby World Cup opener on Sunday.

The centre pairing has been at the core of a lot of Scotland’s attacking output over the last year, earning the nickname ‘Huwipulotu’.

Influential duo

Jones praised Tuipulotu and unpacked how their attributes align so well on and off the field. The pair certainly benefit from playing for both Scotland and Glasgow Warriors.

“I love playing with Sione,” said Jones. “He’s a great guy to have around, he brings loads of energy. I think we view the game the same way.

“With how we want to play and our attributes, we bounce off each other well. We’ve got a good connection on and off the field, which is great for us and good for the team.”

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland score the first try!

Huwipulotu does it again! 🤩#GuinnessSixNations #SCOvIREpic.twitter.com/KuhMhf9pV8

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) March 12, 2023

Return to promise

It has not been the most simple path to the World Cup for Jones, who after bursting onto the Test scene in 2016, missed on selection for the 2019 edition before a two-year absence from the Scotland set-up.

However, he enters this tournament as one of the team’s key players given his outstanding form this year.

“It’s been really enjoyable since coming back from injury last season to get the opportunity to play for both club and country,” he said. “I’ve had loads of chances (to play) and it’s been great.

“I’ve got on well with the guys around me so I’m really positive about how my game is. I think I’m a better player right now than I’ve ever been. Looking around at the squad, everyone in the squad is playing well so that’s a huge positive for us.”

As far as challenges go, it does not get much bigger than this for Scotland who have the Springboks first up. Jones believes his team can front up to the world champions.

“We’ve had the whole summer to build up and it’s nice to have the big one up first,” he said. “It’s a massive game. They’re world champions, they’re on form if you look at their last couple of games and they are a top side.

“It is a huge challenge for us, but it’s one we’re really excited about. With the game we want to play, we’re confident about it.

“It’s going to be hugely important not to lose focus in any moments. If we can put our game together and stay in the moment, hopefully that will be enough.”

READ MORE: Rugby World Cup team tracker: All the line-ups for the thrilling opening weekend’s action