Daniel Jones (31 May 1875 - 1 January 1959) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

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 it ...

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 distr ...

and international rugby for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. He is known as being the first player to represent Aberavon at international level. Jones was a tinplate furnaceman by occupation and lived in Taibach all his life.

Rugby career

Evans first played club rugby for his hometown club of

Taibach Taibach or Tai-bach ( en, Little Houses) is a community and suburban district of Port Talbot, Wales. It is a settlement centered on the main A48 road, sandwiched between the river Ffrwdwyllt and Margam. Parts of Margam are within the community b ...

,Dan Jones player profile
Ospreysrugby.com before switching to Aberavon. Although Aberavon was an improving club it was still not a fashionable club to play for and had yet to provide an international player. In 1897 as part of the Home Nations Championship Jones made history for the club by being chosen to represent Wales. The Welsh team had been experiencing several years of unstable partnerships at half-back, and the opening match of the 1897 Championship was no exception, with Jones brought in with veteran player

Selwyn Biggs Selwyn Hanam Biggs (June 1872 – 12 January 1943) was a Welsh international rugby union fly-half who played club rugby for Cardiff and county rugby for Glamorgan. Both Biggs and his brother Norman played international rugby for Wales, though ...

as replacements for

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 ...

and

Fred Parfitt Frederick Charles Parfitt (12 August 1869 – 20 March 1953) was a Welsh international rugby union scrum-half who played club rugby for Newport, regional rugby for Somerset and was capped nine times for Wales. On retiring from rugby union, Par ...

. The previous season's encounter with England had ended in a humiliating loss for Wales, but with a much changed team, the Welsh were far more competitive in the 1897 game. Wales beat England 11–0, with Jones scoring one of three Welsh tries, the other two coming from

Arthur Boucher Arthur Boucher (29 June 1870 – 25 April 1948) was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Newport. Boucher was an adaptable player, who although selected mainly as a forward, often played at centre. He was strong, ...

and Tom Pearson. Jones may have been selected for further games that season, but due to the Gould Affair, Wales left the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international ru ...

and could not play in any further international games. By the time Wales were reinstated, Jones' place had been taken by Cardiff's Jack Elliott, and Jones did not represent his country again.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 467. * 1897

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Daniel 1875 births 1959 deaths Aberavon RFC players Rugby union players from Neath Port Talbot Rugby union scrum-halves Taibach RFC players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players