the rise and fall and rise of Ryan Jones

im not happy with this yet. its very bitty. its an old article i wrote for an online publisher. its been updated and edited for length. it still needs work to give it some flow. i'll get it sorted.



Rise and Fall and Rise of Ryan Jones

When Ryan Jones took the field in the 2012 6 nations match against Scotland he equalled Ieuan Evans’ record of 28 Wales caps as captain. Jones’ rise to the top of Welsh Rugby has been hard won, and even harder to maintain.


Jones burst on to the international scene with his displays for the Wales team in the 2005 6 Nations. He was undeniably a vital cog in that grand slam winning machine.
Following his performance in the 2005 6 Nations Jones was called up for the 2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand. Jones was one player singled out by the all conquering All Blacks as a test rugby star.

Just as he was making his name for himself a shoulder injury ruled him out of the following years 6 Nations campaign. He did return later that year to help Wales in their draw to Australia and played in the 2007 6 Nations, a disappointing tournament for Wales with only a solitary win over England to their credit. Jones suffered another shoulder injury, an injury which kept him out of Wales’ 2007 world cup squad.


With the 2008 6 Nations on the horizon Jones found himself free from injury and available to play for his country. He was made captain of Wales and he wore the captaincy well as he led Wales to a 6 Nations Grand Slam. He performed so well as captain that there was a growing opinion that he was the best candidate for the captaincy of the British and Irish Lions tour of that year.


Injury free, riding high on test match success and with the Wales captaincy sitting well Jones suffered a sudden drop in form. His poor displays for Wales against the Springboks ahead of the Lions tour saw Jones fall from Lions captain-in-waiting to Lions squad call-up doubt. And so it proved to be and Jones was not selected for the Lions but he held on to his Welsh captaincy and toured with Wales to USA and Canada.
In 2010 Jones suffered a severe drop in form, and finally, on the eve of Wales’ 2010 autumn international series, he was dropped as captain.
Back in his club side, the Ospreys, he also was stripped of his captaincy and was shifted from his favoured position of 8 to blind side flank and then up into the boiler room to play at lock. When the Wales coach said that Ryan is not considered an international lock it seemed that Ryan’s international rugby career might have run its course.

At the start of the 2011 6 Nations Ryan Jones had to be content with a squad place and a call to bench duties. In a difficult game against England Jones was called into duty early in the match due to an injury to the starting number 8. Jones played some of the best rugby of his life in that match. It was a display that put him firmly back in the minds of the fans and the Welsh coaching team.


A year on and team Wales were again to call on Jones, for his skill, his ability to play anywhere in the back 5 and for his leadership. He took the captains armband and a place in the second row and (but for a more sympathetic referee) a try.


So how does a guy like Ryan get to the top? It is only with persistence and dogged effort in the face of adversity, by overcoming that which threatens to overcome you, by playing and training as best and as hard as you can, and by never giving up. That is how Ryan Jones got to the top and stayed there, and that is what sport is.

A couple of things to consider when it comes to recent form at least. Ryan was voted Player of the Month for the Ospreys by the supporters for December 2010. He was also voted player of the Season 2010/2011. He was also picked by either ESPN or Planet Rugby (can't remember now) in their team of the week (HC) twice during the autumn 2010, playing lock.

(Gatland also said that he wasn't big enough to play lock internationally. Check his stats v AWJ. AWJ bit heavier, same length more or less.... )

hi Yess, just spotted your comments.

thanks.

i was about to cancel this article but thanks to your comments i think i will finish it, and add a bit more depth.

again, cheers.