John "Bala" Jones was a

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 ...

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 ...

scrum-half who played club rugby for

Aberavon Aberavon () is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a district of Por ...

and Devonport Albion RFC and county rugby for Glamorgan and Devon. He won just a single international cap, in 1901.

Rugby career

There is little information recorded about Jones, and no place of birth is recorded with the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; ) is the governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running of rugby in Wales, overseeing 320 member clu ...

,Bala Jones player profile
WRU official site though his nickname of "Bala" could refer to the town of

Bala Bala may refer to: Films * ''Bala'' (1976 film), an English-language dance documentary * ''Bala'' (2002 film), a Tamil-language action film * ''Bala'' (2019 film), a Hindi-language black comedy Life forms *Bala shark (''Balantiocheilos melano ...

, as this was a common way to differentiate people with the surname Jones in Wales. He is recorded at being five foot five inches in height.Godwin (1984), pg 62. In 1897 Jones moved to Devon, and continued playing rugby, representing Devonport Albion and later the Devon county team.Jenkins (1991), pg 89. The Welsh Rugby Union, believed that Jones was taking payment for playing and declared him a professional player, which would prevent him playing under the union code for the rest of his career. Jones challenged the decision and was later reinstated as an amateur. Jones won just a single cap for Wales, and at the time has returned to

and was playing rugby for Aberavon, becoming the third player to win a cap whilst representing the club after Daniel Jones and Alfred Brice. Jones' international debut was in the opening game of the

1901 Home Nations Championship The 1901 Home Nations Championship was the nineteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 5 January and 16 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Scotland won all their ...

, played 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 England. Jones, the only new cap in the team that day, was brought in as a replacement for Lou Phillips, and was partnered at half-back with Newport's

Llewellyn Lloyd George Llewellyn Lloyd (1877 – 1 August 1957) was a Welsh international half-back who played club rugby for Newport and county rugby with Kent. He won 12 caps for Wales and captained the team on one occasion against Scotland. Rugby career ...

. Wales won the match with an impressive 13-0 score line, but with a disappointing displays from the Welsh pack and

Billy Bancroft William James Bancroft (2 March 1871 – 3 March 1959) was a Welsh international fullback, who played club rugby for Swansea, and a county cricketer for Glamorgan, for whom he was the first professional player in 1895. Bancroft was seen as ...

at full-back. Jones was replaced in the very next game, replaced by the returning Phillips.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 468. *

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

1901

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Bala Aberavon RFC players Glamorgan County RFC players Plymouth Albion R.F.C. players Rugby union scrum-halves Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players Year of death missing Year of birth missing