Maynard hoping his Cardiff return proves a success
NICKY Maynard is hoping it will be many happy returns to Cardiff City Stadium when he heads to one of his former homes with Newport County tonight to face Bradford City.
The Exiles striker spent three seasons as a Cardiff City player between 2012-15 after being signed for £2.5m from West Ham. In that time he played 10 times at home and won six and drew another.
He may have only managed one goal in those 10 outings, but he will have his eyes on a few more when Michael Flynn’s promotion chasing County side play Bradford tonight and Leyton Orient on 20 March.
It has been a case of miss more than hit for the striker since joining County on loan in the January transfer window with only one goal to show for his efforts to date in eight games.
Much of that, though, has been down to the state of the pitches on which he has had to play.
Set free from the mud and sand at
Rodney Parade, he is hoping the lush, green surface on one of his old stamping grounds will allow enable County to build on their 2-0 win at Colchester last weekend and start to build a run that can lead them back to the top of the table.
“Playing at Cardiff City Stadium will help us, hopefully, but it is easy saying it now. We’ve still got to produce. At the end of those two home games we will see if the switch was worth it,” said Maynard.
“Some of the other teams are better prepared to play long and play off the big man up front than we are.
“We need to adapt to be able to play that way to get three points at Rodney Parade.
“That isn’t in our DNA, so it isn’t a strength of ours. We want to come away with three points but, more importantly, we want to enjoy the football we are playing.
“It’s going to be about consistency from here to the end of the season. We were consistent at the start of the season, having a good run, and now we have had a consistently bad run.
“Hopefully, we can go back to a good run now because every weekend someone you expect to win loses and it looks like anyone can beat anyone.
“The lads looked upbeat at Colchester and that’s the way we’ve been even though we’ve been on a bad run. We’ve always come into work the next day knowing we’re still in a great position and that we’ve got a great team to get us over the line.
“The win at the weekend was a good start for us getting the three points after the disappointing result at Tranmere. Now we want to keep this run going.”
To do that they will need to make more of their chances count and while Flynn will have been happy to see Padraig Amond hammer home his first goal since 8 December, he will be hoping for more from Maynard on that front.
RYAN Jones has plenty of golden memories to look back on, with three Grand Slams, four Six Nations titles, three Lions Tests and captaining his country 33 times.
But, for him, it’s Wales’ 2005 Slam that really stands out.
It was his first season of international rugby and it was to be a real breakthrough Championship campaign for him.
A replacement in the opening fixture against England, he then started the last three matches, scoring a memorable try against Scotland up in Murrayfield.
“To this day, 2005 is still my favourite Six Nations,” the former back rower told the competition website.
“We had such a magic nine-week period, based on the fact there was a generation of rugby fans in Wales who had never seen a Grand Slam or real success.
“Everything went to plan. Everything we talked about, we executed. It came off. I don’t think I experienced it at any other time in my career.
“We beat England in Cardiff in Round 1, which galvanised the group, then scoring a try against Scotland is a wonderful memory for me.
“I still tease Shane (Williams) that it is the greatest try of our generation, which he doesn’t agree with.
“I got the ball in my own half and Mike Ruddock had mentioned to me about moving the ball so people weren’t sure what to focus on.
“I saw the two Scotland second rows there and I did what looked like this wonderful dummy about 10 yards away that no-one even flinched at, so I ducked my head and remember thinking I’ll either get smashed or break through.
“I got through the first tackle and then the pitch opened up. Murrayfield is a wonderful arena to play in, the acoustics are magic, and I remember as I made my way into the 22, we went through some passing, and I kept thinking I might get it back.
“Then Martyn Williams passed it back to me and I thought I just need to get it down.
“I then executed the world’s worst dive. I wasn’t overly proud of it, but I knew my parents were in that end, in the stand, so I was hoping they saw it.
“It was only the other day my mum was telling me she didn’t actually see the try until the Monday night because, bless her, she is only 5ft 5ins and when everyone stood up as we approached the 22, she couldn’t see.
“So, she missed it live and when they went back to the hotel that evening and the re-run was on the TV, the same thing happened in the pub.
“So, she couldn’t see it on the rerun either.”
A second Slam followed in 2008 and this time Jones was captain, starting all five games, having been handed the job by new coach Warren Gatland.
“I’ll never forget where I was on the M4 when the phone rang and this
Kiwi voice came through,” he said.
“I didn’t believe when he started and spoke about who he was and what he stood for and he asked if I would like to captain Wales, which is a fairly short conversation with a fairly quick answer.
“I rang my family and my mum and dad were in tears and I was in tears.
“I was a kid from Newport who happened to be good at rugby. Nothing prepares you for the weight of expectation and everything that comes with captaincy.
“I would argue it is the highest profile position in Wales. It is up there with the First Minister, everyone knows who you are and your business. “There are 3.2 million of us who can do your job better than you can, so it really is a unique position. “It was something I loved to do and it made me very proud. There was nothing better than walking down the tunnel at Principality Stadium, or any stadium.
“You’re leading your mates and peers out, wearing the red jersey. I loved that and thrived in that, but with it came other responsibilities, like the media and dealing with victory and dealing with losses, trying to manage your own form throughout it.
“It is hard to balance all of these different things, but not let it affect what your main job is.
“To say I loved it would not be doing it justice, it meant more to me than that. I really enjoyed it and it meant the world to me.”
As in 2005, the 2008 cleansweep was launched with a victory over England.
“There were some enormous milestones, going up to Twickenham and winning for the first time in 23 years, against the odds too,” said former Ospreys star Jones.
“We were up against it. If it wasn’t for Huw Bennett’s tackle on Paul Sackey just before half-time, I am not sure we would have won that one.
“We went out to Fulham after and had a night out. Gats always said Championships are not won drinking orange juice, so we certainly made
To this day, 2005 is still my favourite Six Nations... everything went to plan
Ryan Jones
sure in an earlier part of the Six Nations that we did well.”
Come 2012 and there was a third Slam, with Jones again featuring in all five games, ahead of a further title triumph the following year when he started three matches.
“To this day, the Six Nations defines my career,” says the man who will turn 40 next Saturday.
“I am fiercely proud to say I am part of a unique group to win three Grand
Slams and an additional Championship. It was an ever-present during my career.
“I got to live my dream, but it wasn’t just my dream. It was my dad’s dream, my dad’s dad’s dream and then all of my mates’ dream too.
“We shared some wonderful memories and experiences and that is the real magic when I sit back and reflect on my career.”
After retiring in 2015, the 75-cap
Jones worked for the WRU as Director of Community Rugby and then Performance Director before stepping down last year. Now he is watching on as a fan as the current Welsh team bids for a Slam.
“I am five years retired now, but the magic of the Six Nations still captivates me,” he said.
“I have fallen in love with it in a different guise. I am a rugby fan and then a Welsh fan too. It’s who I am.”