David Phillips Jones more commonly known as 'Ponty' Jones (10 December 1881 – 9 January 1936) was a Welsh international

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

wing player who played club rugby for several teams, most notably

Pontypool Pontypool ( ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire in South Wales. , it has a population of 29,062. Locat ...

and

London Welsh London Welsh Rugby Football Club () was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seasons, after gaining promotion from ...

. He won a single cap for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in 1907. Jones was a mining surveyor by profession,Jenkins (1991), pg 86. and was also a classically trained harpist. A keen sportsman, he also played

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

and once had a Welsh amateur trial. During the First World War he joined the British Army and served in the

South Wales Borderers The South Wales Borderers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for 280 years. It came into existence in England in 1689, as Sir Edward Dering's Regiment of Foot, and afterwards had a variety of names and headquarters. In ...

. He died of pneumonia in 1936.

Rugby career

Jones was one of four rugby playing brothers;

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, incl ...

and

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were capped for Wales like David, while the youngest brother Edwin played for club team, Pontypool. As the brothers had the common surname of Jones, the brothers were separated by their nicknames. James was more often known as 'Tuan' and David as 'Ponty'. Jones first played rugby for his home town of Pontymoile, before being selected for first-class rugby club, Newport. He played only 11 games for the Newport senior team before joining the newly reformed Pontypool club,Newport RFC profile
blackandambers.co.uk making his debut for the club on 7 December 1901 in a match against

Ebbw Vale RFC Ebbw Vale Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh Rugby Union Club based in the town of Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent, South Wales. The club play in the Super Rygbi Cymru and act as a feeder club for the Dragons regional team. History Evidence of rugb ...

. Jones' career at Pontypool was extremely successful, becoming a leading scorer over several seasons including 172 tries over his entire career. Such was Jones' scoring record, that the left wing corner pointing to Conway Road at Pontypool's Recreation ground, was nicknamed 'Ponty's Corner'. In the 1904–05 season, Jones scored 49 tries, which included six in the same game against

Talywain Talywain () is situated in Garndiffaith, Abersychan and Pentwyn in Torfaen in south east Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. Old mining area It is a semi rural area that has a long heritage in coal mining. The old British Co ...

in April 1905; a club record that stood for 98 years. Jones was made captain of Pontypool for three consecutive seasons, from 1904 to 1907; and in 1907 he was awarded his one and only international cap. During the first decade of the 20th century, Wales was going through its First Golden Age of Rugby, and the team was filled with talented back players, competition for international caps was fierce. In the

1907 Home Nations Championship The 1907 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-fifth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 12 January and 16 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Although not officia ...

, Wales had used both

Teddy Morgan Edward Morgan (22 May 1880 – 1 September 1949) was a Welsh international rugby union player. He was a member of the victorious Wales team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks in the famous '' Match of the Century'' and is remembered for scorin ...

and Hopkin Maddock on the left wing, but when neither were available for the final Welsh encounter of the tournament, Jones was brought into the squad. The game was played on 9 March, with Welsh home advantage at the

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park (), also known as The Arms Park, is primarily a rugby union stadium, and also has a bowling green. It is situated in Cardiff, Wales, next to the Millennium Stadium. The Arms Park was host to the 1958 British Empire and Common ...

against Ireland. Jones came into a strong three-quarter, and was partnered opposite Johnny Williams on the wing, with Pontypool team-mate John Hart Evans and Wales captain

Rhys Gabe Rhys Thomas "Rusty" Gabe (22 June 1880 – 15 September 1967) born as Rees Thomas Gape,Jenkins (1991), pg 60. 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 c ...

at centre. The Wales team were convincing winners, beating the Irish 29–0. All the points came from the backs with the three-quarters scoring five tries, three from Williams, one from Gabe, and Jones scored an international try on his debut. Despite such a promising start, Jones was replaced the next season by Reggie Gibbs and never represented Wales again. Jones continued to represent Pontypool after his international career, and also played county rugby for

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

. In the 1908/09 season, he returned to Newport for a short period, scoring 5 tries in 14 appearances. During the 1911–12 season he broke his hip, which ended his rugby playing career.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 468. *

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

1907

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, David Phillips Welsh rugby union players Rugby union wings 1881 births 1936 deaths London Welsh RFC players Pontypool RFC players Newport RFC players Monmouthshire County RFC players Wales international rugby union players Rugby union players from Pontypool South Wales Borderers soldiers British Army personnel of World War I Deaths from pneumonia in Wales Military personnel from Torfaen