Thomas Jones (13 December 1895 – 20 August 1933)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 it ...

player who played club

for Newport. Jones was capped six times 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 ...

and was part of the 1922 Five Nations Championship winning side.

Rugby career

Jones played for several second tier Welsh clubs in earlier years, including his home town

Pontnewydd Pontnewydd is a suburb of Cwmbran in the county borough of Torfaen, south-east Wales. It should not be confused with Pontnewynydd in nearby Pontypool. An 18th century settlement within the historical parish of Llanfrechfa Upper, Pontnewydd bec ...

and local teams

Blaenavon Blaenavon ( cy, Blaenafon) is a town and community in Torfaen county borough, Wales, high on a hillside on the source of the Afon Lwyd. It is within the boundaries of the historic county of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent. Th ...

and Pill Harriers, before joining Newport in 1919. Jones was first selected for Wales in 1922 while representing Newport at club level. Evans first game was against England 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 ...

under the captaincy of Tom Parker. Wales scored a record eight tries against England and the selectors kept faith with Jones by giving him a place in the next game of the 1922 Five Nations Championship against Scotland. Wales drew with Scotland thanks to a late drop goal from

Islwyn Evans Haydn Islwyn Evans (25 December 1898 – 13 May 1974) was a Welsh international rugby union player who played club rugby union for Swansea and Llanelli. Evans was capped four times for Wales, all during the 1922 Five Nations Championship. Ru ...

. Jones played the last two games of the tournament, both resulting in Welsh victories giving Wales the Home Nation Championship. Unlike many of the 1922 squad, Jones was reselected for future Welsh games when he was chosen for the

1924 Five Nations Championship The 1924 Five Nations Championship was the tenth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the thirty-seve ...

. More surprising as Jones had been suspended in August 1922 by the Welsh Rugby Union for encouraging younger players to switch codes from rugby union to the professional

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 11 ...

game. This decision was later over-turned and Jones was allowed to play rugby union again. Jones played two more games for Wales, the first against England saw him record his first international points when he scored a

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

, though this was not enough to prevent an English victory, Wales losing 17-9. His final game for Wales was the disastrous game against Scotland which Wales lost 35-10, Jones being one of six players to never represent Wales again. Jones faced two more international touring teams as part of the Newport squad. He played against the 1924 touring

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

team and the 1926 Maoris.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 468. * 1922, 1924 * 1922 * 1922 * 1922, 1924

Bibliography

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Thomas 1895 births 1933 deaths Glamorgan Police officers Blaenavon RFC players Newport RFC players Pill Harriers RFC players Rugby union players from Torfaen Rugby union props Wales international rugby union players Welsh police officers Welsh rugby union players