Howell Jones (5 April 1882 - 1 December 1908)
Scrum.com was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

forward who played for the rugby club

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and community situated in the Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,258 in 2011. Historica ...

and county rugby for Glamorgan. He gained just a single cap for the

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

national team in 1904. Jones came from a sporting family, and his son, Howie Jones, also represented Wales in rugby union.

Rugby career

Jones first played rugby for his local school before joining

Glynneath Glynneath ( cy, Glyn-nedd "valley of the River Neath"), also spelt ''Glyn-neath'' and ''Glyn Neath'', is a small town, community and electoral ward lying on the River Neath in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It was formerly in t ...

. Like many successful players from the area, once Jones had been noticed as a rugby talent, he progressed to Neath RFC, the most notable club in the region. In the 1903-04 season, Neath made Jones the captain of the Neath senior XV. As captain of Neath, Jones was selected for his one and only international appearance, playing for Wales in the country's final game of the 1904 Home Nations Championship. Wales had already played England and Scotland, registering a draw and a win, meaning a win over Ireland would give Wales the possibility of winning the Championship. The Welsh selectors had brought in new capped players throughout the campaign and the final game was no exception. Jones was one of three players who were representing Wales for the first time during the Irish game and the tenth of the tournament. All three new caps were in the forward positions, and Jones was joined by Newport's Charlie Pritchard and Sid Bevan from Swansea. The game ended controversially, with the match referee blames for allowing Ireland a try from an illegal forward pass, and then denying Welsh wing Dick Jones a winning try. Wales finished the 1904 Championship in second and Jones was never selected to play for Wales again. Jones came from a sporting family, and his brothers William (Bill) and Idris both played for the Neath first XV. Bill, like Jones, captained Neath, but he held the position for three seasons from 1910 to 1913.Jenkins (1991), pg 89. Jones' son, Elwyn Howel "Howie" Jones like his father played for Neath, but also represented Swansea and

Aberavon Aberavon ( cy, Aberafan) 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 distri ...

; and in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

played in two Welsh internationals. Howel Jones died on the rugby pitch from a kick to the spleen in 1908. His son, also called Howel ( Howie) played for Wales.

International games played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 473. * 1904

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Howell 1882 births 1908 deaths Glamorgan County RFC players Glynneath RFC players Neath RFC players Rugby union forwards Rugby union players from Powys Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players