Dick Jones (rugby player)
Encyclopedia
Richard Hughes "Dick" Jones (27 November 1879 – 24 November 1958) was a Welsh
international fly-half who played club rugby for Swansea Rugby Club
. He won 15 caps for Wales
and played county rugby for Glamorgan
.
, created one of the most devastating half-back pairings to play for Swansea. Known as the 'Dancing Dicks', Jones and Owen replaced the James brothers for Swansea, and would later bring their partnership to the Welsh team. The Welsh selectors tended to choose club pairings at half back, and when Newport's Lou Phillips
was injured in a match against Scotland, he and his partner Llewellyn Lloyd
were gradually replaced by Jones and Owen. The partnership would last for 15 games, a Welsh record for half-backs that was unbeaten until John
and Edwards
.
Jones played for Swansea for 12 seasons and was a member of the 'All White' team that beat the touring Australians
in 1908.
Jones made his debut against Ireland in 1901. Although dropped for a time between 1902 and 1904, he reestablished himself with some excellent kicking and running against Scotland. Unfortunately for Jones he broke his instep in a club game in 1905 and did not play rugby again until late 1907. His return in 1908 was against France in a Grand Slam
decider, Jones scored the winning try to lift the trophy for Wales. Jones scored two other tries in his international career, against Scotland in 1904 and England in 1905. Jones should have also scored against Ireland, which would have given him a try against all the tournament teams, but had a try disallowed in the 1903/04 season in Belfast through poor refereeing.
In 1911 Owen and Jones were dropped after a terrible Welsh display against England, in which Jones was constantly harried throughout the game by England's wing-forward, 'Cherry' Pillman
. Wales only lost the match 11-6, mainly due to a first minute error by Bridgend's Benjamin "Ben" Gronow
that allowed England to score, but Wales couldn't get back into the game. The fact that this was the first time a Welsh team had lost to England since 1898 gave the selectors a big enough reason to change personnel for the next few matches. Although Owen would be selected again, Jones suffered a serious accident that ended his playing career.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
international fly-half who played club rugby for Swansea Rugby Club
Swansea RFC
Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. Its home ground is St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea. The team is sometimes known as The Whites because of the primary colour of the team strip...
. He won 15 caps for Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
and played county rugby for Glamorgan
Glamorgan County RFC
Glamorgan County RFC is a Welsh rugby union club that manages an invitational team, known as Glamorgan that originally played rugby at county level...
.
Rugby career
Jones, along with Dicky OwenDicky Owen
Dicky Owen was a Welsh international scrum-half who played club rugby for Swansea RFC Owen is seen as one of the greatest Welsh scrum-halves and won 35 caps for Wales between 1901 and 1912, a record that was unbeaten until 1955 when Ken Jones surpassed him.-Influence in rugby:Born Richard Morgan...
, created one of the most devastating half-back pairings to play for Swansea. Known as the 'Dancing Dicks', Jones and Owen replaced the James brothers for Swansea, and would later bring their partnership to the Welsh team. The Welsh selectors tended to choose club pairings at half back, and when Newport's Lou Phillips
Lou Phillips
Louis Augustus "Lou" Phillips was a Welsh international scrum-half who played club rugby for Newport. He won four caps for Wales and was a talented amateur golf player.-Rugby career:...
was injured in a match against Scotland, he and his partner Llewellyn Lloyd
Llewellyn Lloyd
George Llewellyn Lloyd 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....
were gradually replaced by Jones and Owen. The partnership would last for 15 games, a Welsh record for half-backs that was unbeaten until John
Barry John
Barry John is a former Welsh rugby union fly-half who played, during the amateur era of the sport, in the 1960s and early 1970s. John began his rugby career as a schoolboy playing for his local team Cefneithin RFC before switching to first-class west Wales team Llanelli RFC in 1964...
and Edwards
Gareth Edwards
Gareth Owen Edwards CBE is a former Welsh rugby union footballer who played scrum-half and has been described by the BBC as "arguably the greatest player ever to don a Welsh jersey"....
.
Jones played for Swansea for 12 seasons and was a member of the 'All White' team that beat the touring Australians
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
in 1908.
Jones made his debut against Ireland in 1901. Although dropped for a time between 1902 and 1904, he reestablished himself with some excellent kicking and running against Scotland. Unfortunately for Jones he broke his instep in a club game in 1905 and did not play rugby again until late 1907. His return in 1908 was against France in a Grand Slam
Grand Slam (Rugby Union)
In rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship manages to beat all the others during one year's competition...
decider, Jones scored the winning try to lift the trophy for Wales. Jones scored two other tries in his international career, against Scotland in 1904 and England in 1905. Jones should have also scored against Ireland, which would have given him a try against all the tournament teams, but had a try disallowed in the 1903/04 season in Belfast through poor refereeing.
In 1911 Owen and Jones were dropped after a terrible Welsh display against England, in which Jones was constantly harried throughout the game by England's wing-forward, 'Cherry' Pillman
Charles Pillman
Charles Henry "Cherry" Pillman MC was an English rugby union international who played on 18 occasions for his country and was part of the first official British Isles team that toured South Africa in 1910. He played club rugby with Blackheath and county rugby for Kent...
. Wales only lost the match 11-6, mainly due to a first minute error by Bridgend's Benjamin "Ben" Gronow
Benjamin Gronow
Benjamin "Ben" Gronow was a Welsh dual-code international rugby union and professional rugby league footballer of the 1910s and '20s. At club level Gronow played under the union code for Bridgend RFC, county rugby for Glamorgan and international rugby for Wales union team...
that allowed England to score, but Wales couldn't get back into the game. The fact that this was the first time a Welsh team had lost to England since 1898 gave the selectors a big enough reason to change personnel for the next few matches. Although Owen would be selected again, Jones suffered a serious accident that ended his playing career.