Jones will reach the magical mileston for the Steelmen after joining the club following Ebbw Vale’s relegation to Division 1 East eight years ago. He joined the club for a second time from Bargoed following a call from the new coach at the time, Neil Edwards who had briefly played with Jones and rated him highly.
Edwards made him a key part of his pack, even giving him the role of steering the driving line out, and in that first season Jones crossed for 10 tries, which accounts for most of his touchdowns in an Ebbw Vale shirt.
Each coach has relied on his undoubted prowess in the scrum to build a dominant pack that has been a key part of the DNA of the club as the Steelmen secured league triumph after triumph. Jones has also been one of the key players who the coaching staff have relied on to drive standards of work upwards on the training field, on match day and install pride in the Steelmen shirt.
Jones has enjoyed many excellent performances, a memorable one being in the famous “17 minutes of extra time” cup game at the Arms Park when Ebbw, who were in the Championship, held on for a famous victory over Cardiff.
During that game Jones gave his initial opponent a torrid time, leading Cardiff to introduce Campese Mafu into the fray, only for the Cardiff Blues and Samoan international prop to find himself in all sorts of trouble in the scrum. The same player went on to star in the World Cup and English Premiership, which just shows Jones’s quality as a scrummager. Deep into injury time, with two forwards in the sin bin, he was a key part of the pack that ensured the Steelmen held on to the ball in a frantic finish.
A gentleman off the field, Jones’s arrival as a member of the exclusive 200 club will certainly be greeted with delight by the Addicts.
