Te lead changed hands five times during the game – four of them in the final quarter. It wasn’t a game for the faint-hearted and had a cruel sting in the tail for the relegation threatened home side after they had hit the front for the final time with a Morgan Williams penalty in the 77th minute.
Jones kept his cool to slot a 79th minute penalty to regain the lead and then added an injury time kick to secure the four points. Given their nearest rivals for the Premiership crown, table-topping Merthyr and third-placed Pontypridd, both lost over a dramatic weekend it was a vital contribution from Jones.
The win cut the deficit at the top to a single point and means Cardiff can’t be caught from behind on current points when Pontypridd play their game in hand. The Welsh capital side now face three successive games at the Arms Park as they continue to chase their first title in a decade.
Llanelli have to travel to meet Bedwas on Friday night in a game that will be vital in their bid for survival at the other end of the table. Bedwas made it back-to-back wins for the first time since October with their 20-15 home victory over fellow strugglers Cross Keys.
It was a significant triumph for the home side as every team below them lost. Neath suffered a 35-0 home defeat to Llandovery, who saw centre Rhodri Jones score two of their five tries, while Bargoed went down 25-7 in a dour game at Aberavon.
Bridgend also lost, going down 17-15 at home to Newport. The Ravens were forced to play catch-up after conceding first half tries to Chay Smith and Josh Skinner that left them 17-3 adrift at the break.
The second half improved as they held Newport pointless and notched tries of their own through Jordan Collier and Chris Williams. That hauled them back into the contest, but a missed conversion from Ryan Evans and a last-gasp failure with a drop goal from Jamie Murphy meant they had to be content with a losing bonus point.
At the top of the table, Round 22 got off to a stirring start as Ebbw Vale flexed their muscles to remain in the title contest with a 17-16 win over Pontypridd. Hooker Joe Franchi and skipper Ashley Sweet burrowed over for the tries for the Steelmen as they pipped Ponty in a gripping contest.
Although 11 points off the top in fourth place, Ebbw Vale head to Merthyr on Friday night for another tilt at a team above them in the table. They end their season against second placed Cardiff at the Arms Park on 4 May.
Reigning champions Merthyr slipped to their fifth defeat of the season as they went down 27-5 at Swansea. It was their biggest loss since 4 November, 2016, when they were beaten by 30 points at Bridgend.
Swansea made it eight wins in their last nine league outings with a top-notch performance in which their forwards outmuscled their much-vaunted visitors. They crossed for four tries from James Ratti, Tom Sloane, Andrew Claypole and Morgan Morris to race into a 27-0 lead, and secure the bonus-point, before the champions replied with a consolation score on the stroke of time from Matthew Jarvis.
Honours ended equal in Colwyn Bay as RGC 1404 and Carmarthen Quins fought out a mid-table 15-15 draw.
