DETERMINED JOE RETURNS TO HIS ROOTS
JOSH JONES is living the dream with Great Britain, on the back of a shock Grand Final with Salford.
But while the 26-year-old forward is having the time of his life now, he admits the dark days are always in danger of reappearing.
It is a battle Jones has decided to reveal in a bid to help others who are struggling with depression.
He said: “I’m a lot stronger mentally than I was two years ago but those dark days still come.
“I went through a tough time and I was ready to give up rugby.
“Salford wanted rid of me and I wanted rid of them to be fair.
“I was struggling to cope and I was an inch away from packing up and getting a job.
“Luckily Tim Sheens, who was coach then, was great with me and I managed to find a good doctor who helped me find a way to cope with my demons better.”
Jones’ problems escalated after joining Salford following an ill-fated spell in union with Exeter Chiefs three years ago.
He said: “I used to worry about everything, I’d stress and then go drinking loads and I wasn’t training properly. It was a vicious cycle. My missus was pregnant, I struggled to cope and we nearly split up over it because we’d argue about me drinking so much.
“But thankfully Olivia stuck by me and she’s been my rock. I probably couldn’t get through a lot of stuff in life without her.”
The couple, who recently had their third child, were married the day after the Grand Final, the same day he was called up for the Lions tour Down Under.
It has been a whirlwind of success but Jones said he knows better than most that appearances can sometimes be deceptive.
And he urged anyone struggling with anxiety or depression to talk about it and get help.
He said: “Instead of going drinking now, I sit down with Olivia or a close friend and discuss how I am feeling.
“What happened to Jansin Turgut is well documented and I’m glad he is still here to share his story and is now getting through it.
“I’m lucky I never got to the stage he got to, but there are an awful lot of people who feel the same things and it’s important that people talk.”
Jones’ Salford team-mate Turgut is still recovering from horrific injuries suffered in a fall from a car park roof in Ibiza in May.
Jones, who joins Hull after the Lions tour, will start on the bench in Saturday’s clash with Tonga in Hamilton.
But he has vowed to do his utmost, saying: “Elliot Whitehead and John Bateman are probably the two form back rowers in world rugby but I’m working hard to push them.”
JOE ROOT has been working hard to try to start the winter Test campaign in New Zealand with a bang.
Root (above) is stepping aside for the five T20 internationals, along with other senior all-format players like Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler.
But as skipper, his focus on the two-Test series that follows is total.
He has even been going back to his roots in a bid to find a way to score more big runs now he is returning to No.4 in the order.
And with new head coach Chris Silverwood alongside him, Root knows this is a freshening up of his reign. “I’ve already started netting,” said Root after watching the Hundred draft. “I want to work on a few different things and it’s been good to get back into routines.
“I want to start the winter off with a bang. To set a marker early in terms of going to New Zealand and making big scores. I want to try to lead from the front. You have to take these
England tour of New Zealand 2019 Sun Oct 27: T20 warm-up (Lincoln)
Tue Oct 29: T20 warm-up (Lincoln)
Fri Nov 1: 1st IT20 (Christchurch)
Sun Nov 3: 2nd IT20 (Wellington)
Tue Nov 5: 3rd IT20 (Nelson)
Fri Nov 8: 4th IT20 (Napier)
Sun Nov 10: 5th IT20 (Auckland)
Tue Nov 12: Two-day warm-up (Whangarei) Nov 15-17: Three-day warm-up (Whangarei) Nov 21- 25: 1st Test (Mt Maunganui)
Nov 29-Dec 3: 2nd Test (Hamilton)
pockets of time as an opportunity to improve so I’ve been using Josh Varley, head coach of Sheffield Collegiate, my old club.
“From being 12 and 13 years old, we threw balls at each other all day so we’ve been doing a bit of work together and I’ve also been down to Denstone College.
“Former Yorkshire wicket-keeper Simon Guy is head of cricket there and when I started out at Headingley, he was a bit of a mentor.
“I’ve just been lining things up slightly differently, to get a rhythm back into my batting without it affecting my balance.”
While Root is putting a huge amount of energy into his red-ball batting, there is the small matter of a T20 World Cup in Australia next year.
He will play three games for the Trent Rockets in the Hundred next summer. “Not playing Test cricket is not an option, but I’m still glad to be involved in the Hundred,” he added.
“To get into the England T20 squad in Australia I have to keep getting better.”