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Stephen Jones (rugby player)
Encyclopedia
Stephen Michael Jones is a Welsh
international rugby union
player who plays primarily at fly-half for Wales
, the British and Irish Lions
and Scarlets.
Stephen Jones is the record cap holder for Wales
and he is joint eighth on the List of rugby union Test caps leaders. Jones is sixth in the List of leading Rugby union Test point scorers, and the second-highest Wales player on the list behind Neil Jenkins
.
in 1996, staying there until the 2003–04 season. He played his last Welsh club season for the Llanelli Scarlets, the Llanelli
side in the Welsh regional setup introduced that year. In his Welsh top-level career, he made more than 200 appearances and scored almost 2,000 points.
, formerly known as Montferrand.
He had a successful club career with Clermont and he was chosen by French journalists as the fly-half of the season in his second year at the club.
in 2007 and reached the semi-finals after wins home and away against Ulster
and Toulouse, and a comfortable home victory against 2006 winners Munster
in the quarter-finals. The Scarlets ultimately came unstuck against Leicester
in the semi-final.
Jones ended speculation over his future by signing a new three-year contract with the Scarlets. He had been heavily linked with a move to French club Biarritz
after triggering a clause in his contract allowing him to talk to other clubs.
in 1998 against South Africa
. He is the second highest points scorer for Wales.
Jones played a prominent role in Wales' grand slam triumph of 2005. As Welsh fly-half he scored the majority of the team's points, his best game being the victory in Paris in which he scored 14 points including a drop goal and made a searing 60 metre break which led to Martyn Williams' first try. In the championship decider against Ireland at the Millennium Stadium he scored another 16 points and steered Wales to their first Grand slam for 27 years. He was later named fly-half of the championship for 2005.
In October 2006 head coach Gareth Jenkins
named Jones as captain to lead Wales through to the 2007 World Cup. On his appointment of Jones, Jenkins said "Stephen has all the attributes to make a magnificent captain of his country. He has the respect and regard of his players, leadership qualities that are evident for all to see and the talent and ability to lead from the front at game time".
Jenkins was to have a change of heart however, as Jones was replaced by Gareth Thomas
as Welsh captain for the 2007 World Cup, as Jones was not assured of his place in the Welsh team due to the emergence of James Hook
. In his 8 outings as Welsh captain, Jones skippered Wales to only 1 win with 6 defeats and 1 draw
In the 2008 RBS Six Nations, Jones made four appearances in his second Grand Slam championship win with Wales. He scored seven conversions and ten penalties, adding up to 44 points, despite starting the tournament as second choice to James Hook
.
In the 2009 RBS Six Nations, Jones made five appearances in the competition with Wales. An improvement to the previous year's competition he proved to be the in form player, cementing his place as the first choice No. 10 for Wales.
Jones became the record cap holder for Wales on 26 September 2011 versus Namibia, overtaking the record of 100 caps set by Gareth Thomas
.
Jones was selected as part of the thirty-man Welsh squad for the Rugby World Cup 2011. He played his 103rd test against France in the semi-final which Wales lost, coming off the bench to replace James Hook
in the 45th minute.
. Having won the 2005 Six Nations Championship
Grand Slam
with Wales, Jones was the in form fly-half but the Head Coach, Sir Clive Woodward, selected the barely match fit Jonny Wilkinson
ahead of Jones. Many people in the Rugby world saw this as the wrong decision and many believed that Wilkinson should not even have toured, let alone played, as at the time he had only recently recovered from a serious injury.
On 21 April 2009 Jones was named in the squad for the 2009 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa
. During 2009 Jones cemented his place as Wales first choice No.10 and earned his place in the Lions squad. He started every test match in the tour and broke the Lions record for most points scored against South Africa in the second test.
, Cardiff, on 8 July 2011.
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 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 plays primarily at fly-half 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...
, the British and Irish Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
and Scarlets.
Stephen Jones is the record cap holder 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 he is joint eighth on the List of rugby union Test caps leaders. Jones is sixth in the List of leading Rugby union Test point scorers, and the second-highest Wales player on the list behind Neil Jenkins
Neil Jenkins
Neil Jenkins MBE is a former rugby union football player and current coach. He played fly-half, centre, or full back for Pontypridd, Cardiff, Celtic Warriors, Wales and the British and Irish Lions. Jenkins is Wales' highest ever points-scorer and is the third highest on the List of leading Rugby...
.
Llanelli RFC
Jones joined Llanelli RFCLlanelli RFC
Llanelli Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club founded in 1875 and its senior team is one of the leading club sides in Wales. The club began the 2008-09 season at their historic home ground of Stradey Park in Llanelli, but moved in November 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent...
in 1996, staying there until the 2003–04 season. He played his last Welsh club season for the Llanelli Scarlets, the Llanelli
Llanelli
Llanelli , the largest town in both the county of Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed , Wales, sits on the Loughor estuary on the West Wales coast, approximately west-north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. The town is famous for its proud rugby...
side in the Welsh regional setup introduced that year. In his Welsh top-level career, he made more than 200 appearances and scored almost 2,000 points.
Clermont Auvergne
In 2004, he joined Clermont AuvergneASM Clermont Auvergne
Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne are a French rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system, ASMCA are the were the 2010 France Top 14 Champions. It is the rugby section of the multi-sport club...
, formerly known as Montferrand.
He had a successful club career with Clermont and he was chosen by French journalists as the fly-half of the season in his second year at the club.
Scarlets
After two years at Clermont he returned to play for the Scarlets in 2006. Back in Llanelli, Jones and the team had an excellent run in the Heineken CupHeineken Cup
The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...
in 2007 and reached the semi-finals after wins home and away against Ulster
Ulster Rugby
Ulster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Ulster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Belfast, representing the Irish province of Ulster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...
and Toulouse, and a comfortable home victory against 2006 winners Munster
Munster Rugby
Munster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish...
in the quarter-finals. The Scarlets ultimately came unstuck against Leicester
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...
in the semi-final.
Jones ended speculation over his future by signing a new three-year contract with the Scarlets. He had been heavily linked with a move to French club Biarritz
Biarritz Olympique
Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque is a French professional rugby union team based in the Basque city of Biarritz, Aquitaine which competes in the Top 14 and the Heineken Cup...
after triggering a clause in his contract allowing him to talk to other clubs.
Wales
Jones made his international debut for WalesWales 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...
in 1998 against South Africa
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
. He is the second highest points scorer for Wales.
Jones played a prominent role in Wales' grand slam triumph of 2005. As Welsh fly-half he scored the majority of the team's points, his best game being the victory in Paris in which he scored 14 points including a drop goal and made a searing 60 metre break which led to Martyn Williams' first try. In the championship decider against Ireland at the Millennium Stadium he scored another 16 points and steered Wales to their first Grand slam for 27 years. He was later named fly-half of the championship for 2005.
In October 2006 head coach Gareth Jenkins
Gareth Jenkins
Gareth Jenkins is a former Welsh rugby union footballer, and former head coach of the Welsh national team. After a long and distinguished career at Llanelli RFC, Jenkins was appointed Wales coach in 2006, succeeding Mike Ruddock...
named Jones as captain to lead Wales through to the 2007 World Cup. On his appointment of Jones, Jenkins said "Stephen has all the attributes to make a magnificent captain of his country. He has the respect and regard of his players, leadership qualities that are evident for all to see and the talent and ability to lead from the front at game time".
Jenkins was to have a change of heart however, as Jones was replaced by Gareth Thomas
Gareth Thomas (rugby player)
Gareth Thomas , known as Alfie, is a retired Welsh professional rugby footballer who played rugby league for the Crusaders RL in the Super League. He also previously played rugby union for the Cardiff Blues and as a fullback, wing or centre.On 26 May 2007, Thomas surpassed Gareth Llewellyn as the...
as Welsh captain for the 2007 World Cup, as Jones was not assured of his place in the Welsh team due to the emergence of James Hook
James Hook (rugby player)
James William Hook is a Welsh rugby union player for USA Perpignan. Hook is widely regarded as one of the most talented players in world rugby....
. In his 8 outings as Welsh captain, Jones skippered Wales to only 1 win with 6 defeats and 1 draw
In the 2008 RBS Six Nations, Jones made four appearances in his second Grand Slam championship win with Wales. He scored seven conversions and ten penalties, adding up to 44 points, despite starting the tournament as second choice to James Hook
James Hook (rugby player)
James William Hook is a Welsh rugby union player for USA Perpignan. Hook is widely regarded as one of the most talented players in world rugby....
.
In the 2009 RBS Six Nations, Jones made five appearances in the competition with Wales. An improvement to the previous year's competition he proved to be the in form player, cementing his place as the first choice No. 10 for Wales.
Jones became the record cap holder for Wales on 26 September 2011 versus Namibia, overtaking the record of 100 caps set by Gareth Thomas
Gareth Thomas (rugby player)
Gareth Thomas , known as Alfie, is a retired Welsh professional rugby footballer who played rugby league for the Crusaders RL in the Super League. He also previously played rugby union for the Cardiff Blues and as a fullback, wing or centre.On 26 May 2007, Thomas surpassed Gareth Llewellyn as the...
.
Jones was selected as part of the thirty-man Welsh squad for the Rugby World Cup 2011. He played his 103rd test against France in the semi-final which Wales lost, coming off the bench to replace James Hook
James Hook (rugby player)
James William Hook is a Welsh rugby union player for USA Perpignan. Hook is widely regarded as one of the most talented players in world rugby....
in the 45th minute.
British and Irish Lions
He was selected for the 2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand
In 2005 the British and Irish Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand for the first time since 1993, playing 7 tour matches against first and second division clubs from the National Provincial Championship series, 1 tour match against the national New Zealand all Māori club, and 3 official test...
. Having won the 2005 Six Nations Championship
2005 Six Nations Championship
The 2005 RBS 6 Nations Championship was the sixth series of the Six Nations Championship to be held since the competition expanded in 2000 to include Italy...
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...
with Wales, Jones was the in form fly-half but the Head Coach, Sir Clive Woodward, selected the barely match fit Jonny Wilkinson
Jonny Wilkinson
Jonathan Peter "Jonny" Wilkinson OBE is an English rugby union player and member of the England national team. Wilkinson rose to acclaim from 2001 to 2003, before and during the 2003 Rugby World Cup and was acknowledged as one of the world’s best rugby players...
ahead of Jones. Many people in the Rugby world saw this as the wrong decision and many believed that Wilkinson should not even have toured, let alone played, as at the time he had only recently recovered from a serious injury.
On 21 April 2009 Jones was named in the squad for the 2009 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa
2009 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa
The 2009 British and Irish Lions Tour to South Africa was an international rugby union tour which took place in South Africa from May to July 2009....
. During 2009 Jones cemented his place as Wales first choice No.10 and earned his place in the Lions squad. He started every test match in the tour and broke the Lions record for most points scored against South Africa in the second test.
Personal Life
Jones has a son, Seb Joseff Jones, who was born to his fiancé Gwen at the University Hospital of WalesUniversity Hospital of Wales
University Hospital of Wales , opened in November 1971, is a major 1000-bed hospital situated in the inner city district of Heath in Cardiff, Wales...
, Cardiff, on 8 July 2011.