John "Bala" Jones was a

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

scrum-half who played club rugby for

Aberavon Aberavon ( cy, Aberafan) is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a distri ...

and Devonport Albion RFC and county rugby for Glamorgan and Devon. He won just a single international cap, in 1901.

Rugby career

There is little information recorded about Jones, and no place of birth is recorded with the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running ...

,Bala Jones player profile
WRU official site though his nickname of "Bala" could refer to the town of Bala, as this was a common way to differentiate people with the surname Jones in Wales. He is recorded at being five foot five inches in height.Godwin (1984), pg 62. In 1897 Jones moved to Devon, and continued playing rugby, representing Devonport Albion and later the Devon county team.Jenkins (1991), pg 89. The Welsh Rugby Union, believed that Jones was taking payment for playing and declared him a professional player, which would prevent him playing under the union code for the rest of his career. Jones challenged the decision and was later reinstated as an amateur. Jones won just a single cap for Wales, and at the time has returned to

and was playing rugby for Aberavon, becoming the third player to win a cap whilst representing the club after Dan Jones and

Alfred Brice Alfred "Bobby" Brice (21 September 1871 – 28 May 1938) was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Ogmore Vale, Aberavon and Cardiff. A three times Triple Crown winner, Brice was known for his tough and aggressive ...

. Jones' international debut was in the opening game of the

1901 Home Nations Championship The 1901 Home Nations Championship was the nineteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 5 January and 16 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Scotland won all their t ...

, played at the

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British E ...

against England. Jones, the only new cap in the team that day, was brought in as a replacement for

Lou Phillips Louis Augustus Phillips (24 February 1878 – 14 March 1916) was a Welsh rugby player, who played half-back for Newport RFC, and won four caps for . He was also a talented amateur golfer. Born in Newport, Monmouthshire, Phillips was educated ...

, and was partnered at half-back with Newport's

Llewellyn Lloyd George Llewellyn Lloyd (1877 – 1 August 1957) was a Welsh international half-back who played club rugby for Newport and county rugby with Kent. He won 12 caps for Wales and captained the team on one occasion against Scotland. Rugby career L ...

. Wales won the match with an impressive 13-0 score line, but with a disappointing displays from the Welsh pack and

Billy Bancroft William James Bancroft (2 March 1871 – 3 March 1959) was a Welsh international fullback, who played club rugby for Swansea, and a county cricketer for Glamorgan, for whom he was the first professional player in 1895. Bancroft was seen as o ...

at full-back. Jones was replaced in the very next game, replaced by the returning Phillips.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 468. *

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

1901

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Bala Aberavon RFC players Glamorgan County RFC players Plymouth Albion R.F.C. players Rugby union scrum-halves Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players Year of death missing Year of birth missing