Jones’ surprise role takes the biscuit
IT was just as well Adam Jones avoided the pre-match cakes at Harlequins yesterday afternoon — the Welsh legend started the day planning an idle Saturday in Guildford, and ended up starring for 60 minutes in a Premiership game.
After Quins’ victory over Sale, director of rugby John Kingston revealed that Jones was not even meant to attend the match.
But for the second time this season Jones played almost an entire game at loosehead prop, when he usually plays on the tight side of the scrum, after a succession of injuries forced late changes.
Jones was at home in Surrey when he was told, at 11.30am, that he was needed to perform the role of defence coach in the absence of Graham Rowntree.
But when England prop Joe Marler pulled out of the warm-up with a calf strain, 35-year-old Jones was thrust onto the bench. Then Marler’s replacement Owen Evans went off after 20 minutes, so on came Jones.
Kingston was throughly impressed. ‘When he came into the coaches room about a quarter past one, before the game, Trish, one of our lovely ladies who makes cakes had left some out,’ the Quins boss said.
‘I noticed he was eyeing them up and I said: “are you not going to have one?”. He replied “I don’t need an invitation for that! But I’ll leave it a little while.”
‘So I said to him at half-time “it’s a good thing you did not have those flapjacks isn’t it really?” It was remarkable for a man of over 100 caps, on he goes, wrong side of the scrum, to play 60 minutes there — I cannot speak highly enough of him.
‘He is a magnificent man to work with. I have been working in this industry for 20 years and I am not sure I know a more professional man, or more of a team man than that guy. He is just unbelievable, sensational.’
Quins won their tenth successive homegame in all competitions, to move up to seventh.
Tim Swiel, another supersub, scored 24 points, including a brilliant breakaway try and Charlie Walker added the other score.
The Sharks scored three tries, two from Denny Solomona and one from Byron McGuigan but Will Addison missed two of the conversions.
Sale boss Steve Diamond said: ‘We just need to get some security in this competition, our recruitment done for next year, then we’ll be all right.’