Arthur Jones (rugby union)

Arthur Jones

Birth name	John Arthur Jones
Date of birth	(1856-05-26)26 May 1856
Place of birth	Risca, Caerphilly County Borough, Wales
Date of death	20 January 1919(1919-01-20) (aged 62)
Place of death	Llandaff, Wales
School	Monmouth School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Forward Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 1876-? Cardiff RFC () International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1883 Wales 1 (0)

John Arthur Jones (26 May 1856 – 20 January 1919) was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff Rugby Football Club and international rugby for Wales. He was awarded a single cap for Wales.

Personal life

Educated in Monmouth School, Jones became an Admiralty agent before becoming a colliery director. Jones began what was to become a long-standing tradition between Welsh rugby and the coal mines, and was the first colliery employee to represent Wales, a list that would run to over a hundred members. Jones would spend his later life undertaking various duties, including serving as High Sheriff of Glamorgan for 1918 and later governor of the University of South Wales and Monmouthshire.

Rugby career

Jones came to prominence as a rugby player while representing Cardiff. Jones was a founding member of the Cardiff club in 1876. In 1877, while only age 20, he became secretary of Cardiff RFC and was a member of the committee after that.

In 1883, Jones was selected to represent Wales as part of the Home Nations Championship. In the first encounter between Scotland and Wales, Jones was part of a ten-man pack, the only time Wales had used such a heavy forwards tactic. Under the captaincy of Charlie Lewis, Jones was one of three new caps for Wales, the others being Newport's Horace Lyne and Dr. John Griffin, a stand-in from Edinburgh University. Wales lost the game by three goals to one, and the next match saw Wales switch back to nine forwards and Jones was never selected for the national team again.

International matches played

Wales

• Scotland 1883

Bibliography

• Smith, David; Williams, Gareth (1980). Fields of Praise: The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-0766-3.