Healy and Jones Building Scottish Momentum

Ben Healy and Huw Jones have really hit the ground running on their rapid return from World Cup duty with Scotland.

They picked up Player of the Match awards for Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors respectively last weekend as they helped their teams get their Vodacom URC campaigns off to winning starts.

That was all the more impressive as it was less than two weeks since they had headed home from France at the end of some four long months with the Scottish set-up.

Former Munster fly-half Healy, who scored 27 points in the World Cup demolition of Romania, marked his league debut for Edinburgh with another significant haul as he landed six shots at goal to kick them to a 22-17 victory over the Dragons at Rodney Parade.

Reflecting on how he handled going into the game on the back of just a couple of training sessions with his new team, he said: “The boys actually made it quite easy for me with the calls and stuff. Our game plan was pretty straightforward. The boys got round me, helped me out, so I was pretty clear going into it.”

Edinburgh conceded two tries in the opening quarter to trail 14-0, but gradually worked their way back into the match and into a winning position through the boot of Healy and a try from scrum-half Ben Vellacott. “It was a rough start to the game for us,” admitted Healy. “The Dragons had a purple patch early on and we had to absorb a lot of pressure in the first 20 minutes, Sometimes games go like that no matter what you do.

“But we kept our heads, we stuck to what we knew would work and it did in the end.
“We weren’t perfect, but it’s good to come away with wins like that when it’s not going perfect for you. It was just about bit of composure and sticking to the plan.”

Born in Tipperary and schooled in County Limerick, Healy represented Ireland U20s during his time at Munster. But he is Scottish-qualified through his mother and, having been brought on board by national coach Gregor Townsend, he agreed the move to Edinburgh.

As for how he is settling in, the 24-year-old said: “I’ve been welcomed with open arms. I can’t say a bad word.”

Next up for Edinburgh is a home Vodacom URC game against the Emirates Lions from Johannesburg on Saturday evening. “We snuck a win in our opener which is really positive, but we can’t kid ourselves,” said Healy. “There was a lot wrong and a lot to improve on. There is definitely stuff to work on in attack going forward.”

Meanwhile, centre Jones, who figured in all four of Scotland’s group matches at the World Cup, scored a try to help Glasgow beat Leinster 43-25 in Vodacom URC Round 1.
“I got a lucky bounce and managed to run it in, so that was cool,” he said.
“We were really, really happy to come away with the win against real quality opposition.

“It was really hard. They were camped in our half for quite a lot of the second half. I thought we had some unbelievable defence in there. It’s a result that will give us loads of confidence. Leinster are a top team in the competition, so we knew it was going to be a really tough start.

“We came out firing and I was really happy with the performance. To come away with the win, it was a really good start to the season and it was really good to be back.”

Next up for Glasgow is a testing trip to Galway to take on Connacht, who also got their Vodacom URC season off to a winning start with a bonus point victory over the Ospreys.