Danny Jones (6 March 1986 – 3 May 2015) 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 league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He played at club level for Halifax ( Heritage № 1186) (two spells), and the

Keighley Cougars The Keighley Cougars are a professional rugby league club from Keighley in West Yorkshire, England who compete in League 1, the third tier of English rugby league. Keighley's home ground, Cougar Park has a capacity of 7,800. History Early y ...

(two spells), as a or .

Background

Jones was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England.

Playing career

Jones played for Halifax amateur teams, Ovenden and King Cross before turning professional and signing for Halifax. He made his first team début aged 17 years and 200 days in what was to be his only Super League appearance, Halifax's last game of

Super League VIII Tetley's Super League VIII was the official name for the year 2003's Super League championship season, the 109th season of top-level professional rugby league held in Britain, and the eighth championship run by Super League. The season culminat ...

in 2003. He remained with Halifax until 2006 when he joined Keighley Cougars for the start of the 2007 season. After four seasons with Keighley, he returned to Halifax for the 2011 season but then moved back to Keighley in 2012.

International honours

Jones was a

international, having made his début in a defeat by

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in 2010. He was named in the Wales squad for the

2013 Rugby League World Cup The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was the fourteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup and took place in England, Wales, France and Ireland. between 26 October and 30 November 2013. It was the main event of the year's 2013 Festival of World ...

Death

During a League 1 match between Keighley Cougars and

London Skolars The London Skolars are a professional rugby league club based at the New River Stadium, Wood Green, Haringey in north London. They were founded in 1995 and have been professional since 2003, operating in the Betfred League 1. They also run an ...

on 3 May 2015, Jones was substituted in the fourth minute of the game after reporting feeling unwell. Soon after he went into cardiac arrest, he received treatment at the scene by the match doctor and was transferred by air ambulance to the

Royal Free Hospital The Royal Free Hospital (also known simply as the Royal Free) is a major teaching hospital in the Hampstead area of the London Borough of Camden. The hospital is part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs services at Barn ...

where he subsequently died. The match was abandoned after the incident. A post-mortem revealed that the cardiac arrest was caused by a previous undetected, hereditary, heart disease. Keighley announced on 4 May that the number 6 shirt number worn by Jones during the 2015 season would be

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

with immediate effect. The main stand at

Cougar Park Cougar Park is a rugby league stadium in Keighley, England, which is the home stadium of the Keighley Cougars. Its capacity is 7,800 people. It also hosted a match during the 1995 Rugby League World Cup. From 1899 until 1995, it was known as ...

was named ''The Danny Jones Stand'' at the end of May. Jones' widow, Lizzie, performed the traditional

Challenge Cup Final The Challenge Cup of Rugby league was instituted in the 1896–97 Northern Rugby Football Union season, 1896–97 and the final was contested between Batley Bulldogs, Batley and St Helens R.F.C., St. Helens at Headingley Rugby Stadium, Headingley, ...

hymn, ''

Abide With Me "Abide with Me" is a Christian hymn by Scottish Anglican cleric Henry Francis Lyte. A prayer for God to stay with the speaker throughout life and in death, it was written by Lyte in 1847 as he was dying from tuberculosis. It is most often sung ...

'' before the 2015 Challenge Cup Final, to say "thank you to players, fans and officials for their support since her husband's death" . Lizzie also sang ''

Danny Boy "Danny Boy" is a ballad, written by English songwriter Frederic Weatherly in 1913, and set to the traditional Irish melody of "Londonderry Air". History In 1910, in Bath, Somerset, the English lawyer and lyricist Frederic Weatherly initial ...

'' at the BBC Sports personality of the Year awards on 20 December 2015.

Legacy

In February 2016, Lizzie worked with the RFL Benevolent Fund to establish the Danny Jones Defibrillator Fund to raise awareness of cardiac health among sports players and to help clubs purchase defibrillators as well as pushing for all players to undergo heart screening. By 2019 the fund had raised and distributed over £200,000 in grants to amateur clubs.

References

External links

*
Video "Danny Jones Scores in every 2009 match. Only UK player to achieve this" at youtube.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Danny 1986 births 2015 deaths English people of Welsh descent English rugby league players Halifax R.L.F.C. players Keighley Cougars players Rugby league halfbacks Sport deaths in England Rugby league players from Halifax, West Yorkshire Wales national rugby league team players