A RUGBY star who was born in East Lothian is “absolutely loving” playing for Scotland, after making his home debut last month.

Huw Jones, who was born in Musselburgh but moved to England as a youngster, was given a first test cap by Scotland head coach Vern Cotter in the summer.

The 23-year-old made a cameo appearance against Japan in Tokyo, but hit the headlines last month with a two-try home debut during the narrow defeat to Australia.

The centre, who plays for South African side Stormers, is relishing being involved with the national side.

He told Courier Sport: “It’s a great group of guys and it’s been brilliant.

“To get the home starting debut against Australia was really special and, although we were disappointed with the result, to score two tries was amazing.”

Jones spent two years living on Pinkie Road in Musselburgh, and visited his home town during some time off from international duty in the summer.

He added: “My uncle, who lives in Edinburgh, is a taxi driver, so he took me back to see the house – that was the first time I’d been back since I was two years old.

“He told me some of it had changed but I still recognised the front garden.

“It was pretty cool to see it.”

The centre was at the heart of the win over Argentina last Saturday, setting up Sean Maitland for a try in the 19-16 win.

He picked up an ankle injury as he broke through the Pumas defence and was ruled out of the series finale, a 43-16 thrashing of Georgia in Kilmarnock on Saturday.

Although disappointed, Jones is hopeful of more appearances in the dark blue jersey.

The 22-year-old added: “I’ve picked up an ankle injury so I’ll be out for about four weeks – I don’t need surgery, though, which is a bonus.”

Jones is unlikely to play in a competitive match before he next dons the dark blue, with the Super Rugby season not kicking off until February, but Jones is not worried about his fitness.

He said: “I’ve been going pretty flat out since January, so it’ll be nice to get a bit of a rest.

“I suppose I’ll be a little bit rusty, but it’s not like I’ll be unfit, because I’ll have pre-season [with the Stormers] in Cape Town and there’s a chance I’ll play in a warm-up match for the Stormers as well.”

Jones, who has been heavily linked with a return to Scotland, is also expected to remain in South Africa for next year’s Super Rugby campaign.

A move to Glasgow Warriors failed to materialise in 2014, despite the player visiting the club’s Scotstoun Stadium, while Edinburgh Rugby are understood to be front-runners this time round.

Any move would allow Jones to be more readily available for the national side, while ensuring his season runs alongside that of other players – the Super Rugby season does not resume until the New Year.

Jones added: “I’ve got a year left at the Stormers and I’m focusing on that just now.

“I want to see that year out, but I have talked with my agent about possibly moving to Scotland.”