Thomas Baker Jones (16 September 1862 – 26 May 1959)Newport RFC player profiles
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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 its m ...

player who played club

for Newport. Jones was capped six times for

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 ...

and was the first player to score recognised international points for the national team.

Rugby career

Jones was educated at

Blundell's School Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon. It was founded in 1604 under the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the tim ...

in Tiverton and came to note as a member of Newport, and was first selected to represent his country at the age of 19. His first match was against Ireland in the first meeting between the two countries. This was only the second Welsh game and resulted in the first win for Wales. Wales scored four tries during the game, of which Jones scored the first, which was therefore not only the first ever recognised try over Ireland, but also the very first score scored by Wales as they failed to achieve any points in their first match the previous year against England. Although Jones scored a try, the conversion attempt was unsuccessful which meant that Jones is not recorded with a score. Jones was reselected for the next two Wales games, the second match to England and the first match to Scotland; both under the captaincy of Charles Lewis and both lost. Jones was absent from the opening game of the inaugural Home Nations Championship, but was reselected for the second game of the tournament, against Scotland. Wales were beaten by Scotland again, and Jones missed the last game of the Championship to Ireland. Jones was back in the team for the

1885 Home Nations Championship The 1885 Home Nations Championship was the third series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, but the tournament was not completed. The 1885 Championship was notable for the disp ...

. Now under the captaincy of

Charlie Newman Charlie Newman (28 February 1857 – 28 September 1922) was a Welsh international three-quarter who played club rugby for Newport. He was awarded ten caps for Wales and captained the team on six occasions. An original member of the Newport squa ...

, Wales lost against England, but drew the game to Scotland. After the end of his playing career, Jones continued his link to Newport Rugby Club, becoming the club secretary, and later seeing his son represent both Newport and Wales.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 468. * 1882, 1885 * 1882 * 1883, 1884, 1885

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Thomas Baker 1862 births 1959 deaths Welsh rugby union players Wales international rugby union players Rugby union forwards Newport RFC players Rugby union players from Newport, Wales Welsh solicitors People educated at Blundell's School