Lewis Jones (rugby)

Lewis Jones

Personal information
Full name	Benjamin Lewis Jones
Born	11 April 1931 (1931-04-11) Gorseinon, Swansea, Wales
Playing information
Rugby union
Position	fullback, centre wing
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
	Llanelli RFC
	Neath RFC
	Total	0	0	0	0	0
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1950–52	Wales	10	0	9	6	0
1950	British and Irish Lions	3	1	4	4	1
Rugby league
Position	Utility back
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1952–64	Leeds					3372
	Wentworthville Magpies
	Total	0	0	0	0	3372
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1953	Wales	1	0	5	0	10
1954–57	Great Britain	15	5	66	0	150

Benjamin Lewis Jones (born 1931 in Gorseinon) is a Welsh former rugby union and rugby league footballer of the mid-20th century, a dual-code rugby international. He won nine caps for Wales at fullback, centre and wing before turning professional and playing rugby league for Leeds and Great Britain.

Biography

Lewis Jones was educated at Gowerton Grammar School and played club rugby for Neath before undertaking his national service in the Navy. After leaving the Navy he joined Llanelli.

He won his first cap for Wales against England in 1950. This was a match Jones might easily have missed, as he had been about to depart for Hong Kong on board an aircraft carrier until the orders were countermanded on discovering that he was a rugby player. The same year he played for the British Lions, being flown out as a replacement for an injured player on the tour to New Zealand and Australia and playing in three test matches. He scored 63 points in seven games in New Zealand and 16 points against Australia in Brisbane.

In November 1952 he signed for Leeds rugby league club for a record £6,000 (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £382,000 in 2009). A broken arm prevented him having much impact in his first season but in 1953-54 he scored 302 points and in 1956-57 scored a record 496 points. In 1960-61 he played a great part in Leeds' first Championship.

Rugby league historian Robert Gate has described Lewis Jones as 'arguably the most devastating attacking back Wales has ever produced'. His acceleration over the first few yards was stunning, allowing him to penetrate almost any defence and enabling him in the mid 1950s to become the greatest star in the game. Apart from his outstanding attacking play, Lewis Jones was the first Leeds player to score over 1,000 goals for the club, a feat only repeated on 22 August 2009 by Kevin Sinfield.

He won 15 caps for Great Britain at rugby league, scoring in every game he played. He toured Australasia in 1954 and played in the 1957 World Cup. He spent six years as a player-coach in Australia. A schoolteacher by profession, he later taught mathematics in Leeds.

International honours as a league player

Lewis Jones first represented Wales in 1953 against France. After the 1953 French game, Wales did not play another officially recognised international match until 1968; but during this period a representative Wales team played in two games against France. The second of these games saw Jones given the captaincy, leading the Wales team out at Toulouse on 17 February 1963. Despite playing twice for his country, he was only capped for the first match. Lewis also represented Great Britain while at Leeds between 1952 and 1956 against France (2 non-Test matches).

Testimonial match

Lewis Jones' Testimonial match at Leeds took place in 1963.

Career records

Lewis Jones is one of fewer than ten Welshmen to have scored more than 2,000 points in their rugby league career.

Honoured by Arriva Yorkshire

Arriva Yorkshire honoured 13 rugby league footballers on Thursday 20 August 2009, at a ceremony at The Jungle, the home of the Castleford Tigers. A fleet of new buses were named after the 'Arriva Yorkshire Rugby League Dream Team'. Members of the public nominated the best ever rugby league footballers to have played in West Yorkshire, supported by local rugby league journalists; James Deighton from BBC Leeds, and Tim Butcher, editor of Rugby League World. The 'Arriva Yorkshire Rugby League Dream Team' is; Trevor Foster MBE, Neil Fox MBE, Albert Goldthorpe, Alan Hardisty, Stan Kielty, Lewis Jones, Roger Millward MBE, Malcolm Reilly, Garry Schofield, Keith Senior, David Topliss, Dave Valentine, and Adrian Vowles.

Further reading

• Gareth Hughes (1983). One hundred years of Scarlet. Llanelli Rugby Football Club. ISBN 0-9509159-0-4. 

External links

• Lewis Jones at wru.co.uk
• Lewis Jones at wales.rleague.com
• Profile at leedsrugby.dnsupdate.co.uk
• International Statistics at englandrl.co.uk
• Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org
• U.K. League Hooker in Doubt
• Welsh convert XIII