Adam showing why he can’t be ignored
HARLEQUINS’ first try at the Stadium de Toulouse had Adam Jones’ fingerprints all over it.
It started with a scrum right on Harlequins’ line, with the Gallagher Premiership side having been under siege in the opening minutes.
The pressure was on. If you’re a Quins fan, you’re thinking just win the feed and clear the ball.
They do the first bit, getting the ball to No. 8 Alex Dombrandt’s feet. However, they then keep it there, to the point where things were clearly getting uncomfortable for the England international.
Yet Quins kept the ball in. Eventually, they got their reward. A scrum penalty that allowed them to move downfield.
From there, Harlequins get into the opposition 22 and, after relentless carrying work, they create the space for Marcus Smith to step his way over.
The scrum element obviously has Jones’ input. The former Wales and Lions tighthead is the man tasked with coaching the Harlequins scrum.
But their work in the 22? Well, Jones will have contributed to that as well.
“In the last few years, I’ve been doing pick-and-go attack and pickand-go defence,” he said recently.
“There’s a lot more detail that goes into that than you think.
“Contact area, I’ve coached on that the last few years. It’s Danny’s (Wilson) area so I’m assisting with him.
“I’m loving it. Sometimes there’s frustrations where you think you’re not doing as much, particularly in sessions.
“But it’s about grabbing the bull by the horns and taking an area. I’m currently coaching the back three and centres how to cradle and protect their full-back while taking high balls. It’s not something I ever thought I’d be coaching, but we’re getting decent rewards from it.”
Ultimately, Harlequins’ comeback stalled once reduced to 14 men late on, ending their hopes of a place in the Champions Cup final.
But even in defeat, there were plenty of elements that underlined the credentials of the Stoop club. And on a Welsh front, the coaching credentials of Jones.
Some of those areas already mentioned went well for Harlequins in France. Two of their tries, including the opener, were instigated by scrum penalties.
Their third try for wing Cadan Murley came about from Toulouse being pinged for not scrummaging straight. On TV commentary, David Flatman and Benjamin Kayser didn’t necessarily agree with the call – such are the finer details of the scrum – but they admired what the English side’s pack were doing.
As Kayser noted, they were hooking well, keeping the ball in there and adding extra force to bring pressure. That’s not necessarily the philosophy of Jones, but clearly they know when to make the most of their weapon.
“The Premiership is very much like the Top 14,” he said recently. “If you haven’t got a scrum, you’re not going to do anything.
“If you can’t win your own ball, you can’t do anything. If you give penalties away on opposition ball, you’ll struggle.
“The fact we’re ball-winning top of the league and give the second-least penalties off opposition ball means we’re avoiding teams getting into our own 22.
“We’ve got gainline. I’m not a scrum coach who says we have to scrum for penalties every week. Because if I were to do that, I’d be doing the team we’ve got – with Danny (Care) and Marcus (Smith) – a disservice.
“We just need to win the ball.”
In a losing cause, Jones’ pack won the ball and then looked for more. On occasions, they got it. In terms of other areas, the alien thought of Jones coaching protection for fullback went well enough, with Tyrone Green solid under the high ball.
The contact area was a tougher watch, in fairness. Toulouse had too much physicality in the first half with their counter-rucking, but Quins did rally to get a foothold later on. But never enough.
But regardless of how these facets of the game went in France, it’s all part of a bigger picture of how Jones is expanding his horizons in London.
Scott Baldwin, another Welshman who enjoyed time at Quins, has spoken about how that experience opened his eyes to a different way of doing things. Clearly, in the early stages of what will hopefully be a lengthy coaching career, Jones is getting the chance to things.
There’s always been a sense, probably from the day that Harlequins won the Premiership title in 2021 with Jones part of the coaching ticket, that he was destined to coach with Wales.
“Obviously at some point, if the right opportunity came in Wales, it would have to work for me,” he said last month.
“We’re doing well here. Things are pretty good.
“I enjoy bringing the young players through. When you see them make the transition from young player to first team, it’s a great feeling. That’s a massive part of it.”
Dragging him away would likely take a bit of doing, but at the end of the day Jones is as proud a Welshman as you’re likely to find. One day, he might succeed Jonathan Humphreys as Wales’ forwards coach.
Even as Harlequins fell short in what they ultimately wanted to achieve, days like this surely mean we’re one step closer to that. try different