Lewis Jones

‘Golden Boy’ of Welsh rugby and British Lion who turned professional for Leeds for a record fee

LEWIS JONES, who has died aged 92, was a Wales and British Lions dual international, at both rugby union and league, who had the rare distinction of becoming a double Grand Slam winner and British Lions Test player before his 21st birthday.

Dubbed “Golden Boy”, he made his Welsh union debut against England at a prodigiously talented 18. When he turned up at Twickenham with his kitbag, he was turned away by a gateman who thought he was a fan trying to get in for free. Having established his credentials, Jones, playing full-back, then set up a try and kicked two goals in what was only Wales’s second victory at Twickenham in 40 years.

His union career was brief, if spectacular; in 1952, aged 21, he turned professional for Leeds for a then-record fee of £6,000, the equivalent of £216,000 today, but he proved himself a bargain many times over, scoring 144 tries and 1,244 goals in 385 appearances to amass 2,920 points for the club.

He was capped 15 times by Great Britain, scoring in every match. He toured Australia in 1954 and played in the 1957 World Cup, also captaining Wales at rugby league. In 1956-57 he set new world records of 194 goals and 496 points in 48 matches.

Jones was renowned for his electrifying pace, precision goal kicking and mesmerising footwork. Despite breaking his arm (badly), his leg and several fingers, he said he “enjoyed every minute of my rugby league career... I never deviated from the belief that rugby is first and foremost an attacking game.”

Robert Gate, the rugby league historian, called him “arguably the most devastating attacking back Wales has ever produced. Worrying about his defensive prowess was rather like fretting that Michelangelo might not be good at cleaning windows.”

Benjamin Lewis Jones was born on April 11 1931 in Gorseinon near Swansea, the youngest of four children to Titus, a steelworker and Baptist lay preacher, and his wife Lottie. He was educated at Gowerton Grammar School, where he earned rugby and cricket honours for Wales Schoolboys.

He played union for his village club Gorseinon and Neath, alongside his brother Alun, before representing Devonport Services during National Service in the Navy, and joining Llanelli. He almost missed his 1950 Welsh debut as he was about to board an aircraft carrier for Hong Kong before the orders were countermanded.

Jones made 10 union appearances for Wales, helping them achieve Grand Slams in 1950 and 1952, after which he was called up as a replacement for the British Lions on their tour to Australia and New Zealand. He scored 26 points in three Tests on tour before switching to rugby league.

He received Leeds’s tempting offer to turn professional while driving a dumper truck for a new power station at Carmarthen Bay. “I had no regrets whatsoever. The signing-on fee gave us a tremendous boost to our married life,” he said. “I was a trifle immature in those days, had money in my pocket and certainly spent it.”

A crowd of 17,000 saw Jones kick seven goals on his Leeds debut as full-back in a 56-7 victory over Keighley on November 7 1952. His greatest glory with Leeds was captaining them to their historic first championship success against Warrington in 1961, scoring a try and five goals in a 25-10 victory.

“I wasn’t one for stirring speeches, tactical discussions or game plans, there was nothing like that,” he recalled in his memoir. “We played the game as we saw it and our only concession was that there were certain key individuals in sides we faced that we didn’t want to run riot.”

He left Leeds in 1964 to be become playercoach of the Sydney club Wentworthville, winning seven premierships. After spells coaching at Leeds and Dewsbury, he retired, but retained an avid interest in the game, and never missed a home match at Headingley.

He worked briefly as a car salesman, then trained to be a maths teacher as a mature student.

Ray French, who played against Jones for St Helens, remembered him as “the most relaxed of players, often appearing casual in his attitude. Then his flair, pace off the mark and penchant for the unorthodox would take opponents by surprise and he had a magnificent sidestep.”

Jones was inducted into the Rugby League Hall of Fame in 2013 and was also an inductee into the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame.

His wife Maureen predeceased him in 1986. He is survived by their son and daughter.

Lewis Jones, born April 11 1931, died March 4 2024

Jones in 1950: his rugby union career was brief