John Strand-Jones was a Welsh

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...

 rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 player, who represented the Wales national rugby union team

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...

 on five occasions in 1902 and 1903.

Life

Strand-Jones was born on 2 December 1877 in Caio

Caio

Caeo or Caio is a village in the county of Carmarthenshire, south-west Wales, sited near to the Dolaucothi Gold Mines.-Location:It is located between Llandovery and Lampeter, 1 mile north-east of the A482 that connects these two towns. Caeo lies at the confluence of the Afon Annell and the Nant Frena...

, Carmarthenshire

Carmarthenshire

Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...

. He was educated at Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...

 from 1898 to 1901. He played rugby for Oxford University RFC

Oxford University RFC

The Oxford University Rugby Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Oxford. The club contests The Varsity Match every year against Cambridge University at Twickenham.-History:...

 in 1899 at centre and in 1900 and 1901 at fullback.

He made his debut for Wales in the Home Nations Championship

Six Nations Championship

The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....

 against England

England national rugby union team

The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...

 on 11 January 1902, playing at fullback and scoring a penalty

Penalty (rugby)

In rugby football, the penalty is the main disciplinary sanction available to the referee to penalise players who commit deliberate infringements. The team who did not commit the infringement are given possession of the ball and may either kick it towards touch , attempt a place kick at goal, or...

. He also created one of the tries for Wales. He played in the other matches against Scotland

Scotland national rugby union team

The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...

 (scoring a conversion) and Ireland

Ireland national rugby union team

The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...

. Wales won all three matches, winning the championship and the Triple Crown

Triple Crown (Rugby Union)

In rugby union, the Triple Crown is an honour contested annually by the four national teams of the British Isles who compete within the larger Six Nations Championship: England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. If any one team manages to win all their games against the other three they win the...

. In the following year, he played against England (scoring a conversion) and Scotland. It was said of Strand-Jones that he made himself one of the "immortals".

Strand-Jones was ordained in 1903 and worked as a clergyman in Lahore

Lahore

Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...

,India. On retirement, he moved back to Wales to become a farmer near Lampeter

Lampeter

Lampeter is a town in Ceredigion, South West Wales, lying at the confluence of the River Teifi and the Afon Dulas.-Demographics:At the 2001 National Census, the population was 2894. Lampeter is therefore the smallest university town in both Wales and the United Kingdom...

. He was chairman of Lampeter Town RFC

Lampeter Town RFC

Lampeter Town Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team from the town of Lampeter, West Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Llanelli Scarlets....

 1947–48. He died in 1958. One of his former international colleagues, Rhys Gabe

Rhys Gabe

Rhys Thomas "Rusty" Gabe born as Rees Thomas Gape, was a Welsh rugby union player who played club rugby for Llanelli, London Welsh and Cardiff and gained 24 caps for Wales, mainly as a centre.-Rugby career:...

, said that Strand-Jones "was always reliable on the field and a gentleman with kindly feelings and high principles off the field".