Lyn Jones (born 1964) is a former

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 ...

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 ...

player, and now works as a coach. A flanker, Jones has experience at various different levels of the game, both as a player and a coach. Jones played most of his playing career for

Neath RFC Neath Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Castell-Nedd) is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the WRU Championship. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The team is known as the All Blacks because of the team colours: black with onl ...

. He started his coaching career at the same club. He has coached professional clubs in Wales and England, and since 2018 has been head coach of the Russian national rugby union team. He is currently coaching the national rugby team of the Netherlands.

Personal

His son Luc Jones is a professional rugby union player with Jersey RFC. Jones often makes punditry appearances for

BBC Cymru Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is b ...

' Scrum V and coverage of

Pro 14 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

when in Wales.

Playing career

Jones began his elite playing career in 1983 for

. At the club, he was described by Brian Thomas (Neath's team manager) as "The fittest, fastest, cleverest and best back-row forward in Britain". Towards the end of 1987, Jones suffered a severe knee injury taking him out of rugby for over a year. On returning to Neath mid-way through the 1988/89 season, Jones took a sabbatical from rugby for personal reasons. He returned to the club in March 1990 where he struggled to find form and make a way back into the side. For the 1990/91 season - the season that launched the Welsh Premiership - Jones moved to

Llanelli RFC Llanelli Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Llanelli) is a Welsh rugby union club founded on 30 March 1872. The club's historic home ground was Stradey Park in Llanelli, but they moved in 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent Pember ...

. It was at Llanelli where Jones made more of a name for himself, achieving the Premiership title in 1993 and consecutive

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the mos ...

titles in 1991, 1992 and 1993. It was in 1993 where Jones finally got his international chance for

, being selected for Wales' experimental tour to Africa due to the absence of the Welsh first-team players being involved in the Lions tour to New Zealand. He earned his first cap on 22 May 1993, starting at 7 against

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

. With rumoured issues within the club, Jones left Llanelli for the 1994/1995 season and joined

Treorchy RFC Treorchy Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team from the village of Treorchy, in the Rhondda Valley, Wales. They formed in 1886 and by 1891 were a strong voice in the Welsh Football Union and were playing in the Rhondda Division. Club history ...

who has just been promoted to Division 1. It was at Treorchy where Jones began to coach, acting as a player-coach for the

Rhondda Valley Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley ...

based team. However, following a premature end to his playing career, Jones parted way with Treorchy and return to

The Gnoll The Gnoll ( cy, Y Gnol) in Neath, Wales is a sports ground, with a capacity of 6,000 (formerly 15,000). It is used primarily for rugby union and rugby league, although it has also been used previously for association football and cricket. The sta ...

to become Head Coach at Neath.

Coaching career

Early days: Neath and Ospreys

Entering the start of the professional era of

in Wales, Jones led Neath to qualification of the Heineken Cup. Their European form proved an advantage in the Welsh leagues, with Neath winning both the Premiership and Welsh Cup in 1996, the latter title one they reclaimed in 2001. In Neath debut season of the 1996–97 Heineken Cup, Neath narrowly missed out on a knock-out spot behind Brive and Harlequins. Jones' time at Neath saw him unlock a number of later World Class international. It was Jones that signed up an unsuccessful district scrum-half and helped turn

Shane Williams Shane Mark Williams, (born 26 February 1977) is a Welsh rugby union player most famous for his long and successful tenure as a wing for the Ospreys and the Wales national team. He also played scrum-half on occasion. Williams is the record tr ...

in to a quality winger. At the turn of regional rugby in 2003, Jones remained with his region to coach the collective Neath-Swansea Ospreys team. Their first season saw the team fall in the 2003–04 Heineken Cup, finishing bottom of their pool. However they showed promise in the

2003–04 Celtic League The 2003–04 Celtic League was the third Celtic League season, and the first following the formation of the five regional rugby sides in Wales. The Celtic League, having previously been played as a pool stage followed by knockout rounds was res ...

, form which they continued into the next season by claiming the 2004–05 Celtic League title. It wasn't until the

2006–07 Heineken Cup The 2006–07 Heineken Cup was the 12th edition of the European Heineken Cup rugby union club tournament. The pool draw took place on 21 June at Twickenham. The pool stages started on 20 October and concluded in January, going for six rounds. Fol ...

season where the Ospreys made way in the competition; despite not making the knock out round, the Ospreys had finished second in their pool and narrowly missing on finishing top or as the best runner-up. Although they did secure their second Celtic League title, after beating the Newport Gwent Dragons 27–13 to finish top of the table. In May 2008, Jones left the region by mutual agreement, shortly after winning the EDF Anglo/ Welsh Cup against Leicester Tigers. He leaves the region after a successful 14 years as a coach with Neath that formed a large part of the region.

Part-time coaching

During the 2008/09 Welsh Premiership season, Jones acted as a part-time consultant for Ebbw Vale RFC. His dealing with the Newport Gwent Dragons coach Paul Turner while with Ebbw Vale, saw Jones later become an attack consult for the region at the back end of 2008. However the time at the region was short lived, after he left his post in February 2009 to take up a post at an Abu Dhabi school.

London Welsh

In June 2011, Jones was appointed head coach of

London Welsh London Welsh Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain) was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seaso ...

. He immediately gaining promotion to then Aviva Premiership for 2012/13. Jones made some good signings to make his team competitive, including

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

winning scrum-half

Piri Weepu Piri Awahou Tihou Weepu (born 7 September 1983) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player. Weepu played most recently for Wairarapa Bush in the Heartland Championship. Generally Weepu played as a half-back but also played at first five-eigh ...

. Their first ever game in the Premiership was against 2012 runners-up Leicester Tigers, of which they won 38–13. Their first victory came in round 3, after they beat

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played its home m ...

25–24, with the victory backed up the following week away to Sale Sharks; 29–19. The season continued to look promising after they gained their win by the eighth round. At the halfway point of the season, London Welsh sat 12 points clear of relegation sitting in 10th place. After losing to Sale Sharks, who sat in the relegation zone, in round 15, London Welsh found themselves crashing down the table. On 7 March 2013, London Welsh were deducted 5 points due to player registration irregularities, and the appeal was denied and the deduction upheld. This saw London Welsh fall to the bottom of the table, and in danger of relegation. Despite a final win in the last round against

Worcester Warriors Worcester Warriors Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club, based in Worcester, England, that is currently in administration and which has been suspended and will be relegated from Premiership Rugby, the top division of domestic ...

, London Welsh were comfortable relegated from the Premiership. Jones later left the club after the club agreed to release him a year early due to personal reasons.

Return to Wales

With-in a week of leaving London Welsh, Jones joined the Newport Gwent Dragons as Director of Rugby. His first match in charge was a 15–8 win over

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

in the opening round of the

2013–14 Pro12 The 2013–14 Pro12 (also known as the ''RaboDirect Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 13th season of the Pro12 rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, the fourth with its current 12-team format, and the third with Rab ...

season. In round 3, Jones helped the Dragons end a 10-match losing run against the

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...

after a comprehensive 23–16 victory. By the end of the season, Jones had improved the Dragons positioning from the previous season up to 9th on the table and with 7 wins. The 2014/15 season proved even more successful, with the advancement to the knock-out rounds of the 2014–15 European Rugby Challenge Cup, only to lose to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

45–16 in the semi-final. After another poor run of form in the

2015–16 Pro12 The 2015–16 Pro12 (also known as the ''Guinness Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the fifteenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, and the sixth with its current four-country format. it ...

, the pressure built on the Newport Gwent Dragons management. In April 2016, Jones missed the Dragons 2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup quarter-final win over

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

due to illness, and a fortnight later, Jones left the club by mutual consent after a period away through illness.

Welwitschias

In November 2016, the Namibia Rugby Union announced the appointment of Jones as the head coach of the – a Namibian team playing in the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

competition - where he would work with the national head coach Welshman Phil Davies. He first took the side into the

2017 Rugby Challenge The 2017 Rugby Challenge – known as the SuperSport Rugby Challenge for sponsorship reasons – is the first edition of the Rugby Challenge, the secondary domestic rugby union competition in South Africa, and the long-term successor of the V ...

before taking the team into the 2017 Currie Cup First Division. Although his side finished seventh, the competition Namibian players games of a higher level and intensity that they would receive in Namibian's own competition. Jones remained with the side for 2018, despite also acting as a consultant for Neath RFC in February 2018 until the end of the Welsh season. Following the conclusion of the 2018 Rugby Challenge in June 2018, Jones announced he would leave the Namibian side to return home to Wales.

Russia

On leaving Namibia, Jones was due to retake the reigns as head coach at Neath RFC, until it was officially announced that Jones would become the head coach of the Russian national team ahead of the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

. Jones' first match in charge was a 47–20 victory over

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, in what was the first meeting between the two nations hosted by Russia. He later led his side to a 17–10 defeat at the hands of his former club, the Dragons, before narrowly going down to Japan 32–27. In Jones' first international major campaign, Russia finished fourth in the 2019 Rugby Europe Championship, with just two victories to their name; 64–7 over

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and 26–18 over

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. In June 2019, Russia returned to the

World Rugby Nations Cup The Nations Cup is a rugby union competition that was first held in 2006 at Estádio Universitário in Lisbon with Argentina A, Italy A, Portugal and Russia taking part. The tournament is part of the International Rugby Board's US $50 million S ...

for the first time in two years, acting as preparation for the World Cup. They finished second after beating Namibia and Argentina XV.

Honours

Playing

*Welsh Club Champions **Winners: 1990 * WRU Cup **Runners-up: 1984

* Welsh Premiership **Winners: 1993 * WRU Cup **Winners: 1991, 1992, 1993

Coaching

* Welsh Premiership **Winners: 1996 * WRU Cup **Winners: 1996, 2001 Ospreys *

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organisation, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places part ...

**Winners: 2005, 2007 *

Anglo-Welsh Cup The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...

**Winners: 2008 **Runners-up: 2007

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...

**Winners: 2012 (Promotion)

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

**Runners-up: 2019

References

External links

Lyn Jones profile
Scrum.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Lyn 1964 births Living people Dragons RFC coaches Llanelli RFC players Neath RFC players Ospreys (rugby union) coaches Rugby union flankers Rugby union players from Cwmavon, Neath Port Talbot Treorchy RFC players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union coaches Welsh rugby union players Russia national rugby union team coaches