Berwyn Jones

Thomas Berwyn Jones (13 February 1940 – 12 January 2007) was a Welsh sprint athlete,[2] and rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for Rhymney RFC, as a wing, i.e. number 11 or 14, and representative level rugby league (RL) for Great Britain, Other Nationalities and Commonwealth XIII, and at club level for Wakefield Trinity (Heritage № 690), Bradford Northern and St Helens, as a wing, i.e. number 2 or 5.[3]

Berwyn Jones
Personal information
Full nameThomas Berwyn Jones
Born13 February 1940
Rhymney, Monmouthshire, Wales
Died11 January 2007 (aged 66)
Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, England
Playing information
Rugby union
PositionWing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1964–67 Rhymney
Rugby league
PositionWing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1964–67 Wakefield Trinity 189 47
1967–69 Bradford Northern
1969 St. Helens 4 2 0 0 6
Total 193 49 0 0 6
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
≤1965–≥65 Commonwealth XIII ≥1
1965 Other Nationalities 1
1964–66 Great Britain 3 3 0 0 9
Source: [1]
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Great Britain
European Championships
1962 Belgrade 4 × 100 m relay
Representing  Wales
British Empire and Commonwealth Games
1962 Perth 4 × 110 yd relay

Background

Berwyn Jones was born in Rhymney, Monmouthshire, Wales, and he died aged 66 in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, England.

Early career

Jones had a brief career in rugby union with hometown club Rhymney RFC in the South Wales Valleys, but it was in athletics that he looked set to excel until switching to rugby league.

Bronze medal at Belgrade 1962

He won the Bronze medal in the men's 4 x 100 metres relay at the 1962 European Championships in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, alongside Alf Meakin, Ron Jones and David Jones. He also won a bronze medal in the 4 x 100 metres relay while competing for Wales at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.

British record holder

He had been touted as a potential Olympian for 1964 when he was invited to try out for Wakefield Trinity in 1964. He had been a member of the Great Britain 4 x 110 yards relay team and a British record-holder (10.3 seconds) and champion over 100 metres.

Rugby league career

Playing under the ironic alias 'A. Walker', he impressed for Wakefield Trinity in reserve team games against Huddersfield and Doncaster and soon took to the sport. Within nine months he was playing for Great Britain, and scored on his international début against France in Perpignan.

Berwyn Jones represented Other Nationalities (RL) while at Wakefield Trinity, he played right wing in the 2-19 defeat by St. Helens at Knowsley Road, St. Helens on Wednesday 27 January 1965, to mark the switching-on of new floodlights,[4] represented Commonwealth XIII while at Wakefield Trinity in 1965 against New Zealand at Crystal Palace National Recreation Centre, London on Wednesday 18 August 1965,[5] and was selected for the 1966 tour of Australia and New Zealand but did not make the Test team due to the form of Barrow's William "Bill" Burgess and Geoffrey "Geoff" Wriglesworth of Leeds.

Berwyn Jones played right wing, i.e. number 2, and scored 2-tries in Wakefield Trinity's 18-2 victory over Leeds in the 1964–65 Yorkshire County Cup Final during the 1964–65 season at Fartown Ground, Huddersfield on Saturday 31 October 1964.

He transferred from Wakefield Trinity to Bradford Northern in 1967/68 for £3,000, where he was joined by Leeds' Geoff Wrigglesworth. The pair formed a potent right wing/centre partnership. Jones scored 26 tries that season, his best haul.

Retirement

He transferred from Bradford Northern to St. Helens during 1969 but scored just two tries before announcing a premature retirement.

He died in January 2007 after a battle with motor neurone disease.

References
  1. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. "Hall of Fame Athletes " Berwyn Jones". uka.org.uk. 31 December 2011. Archived from the original on 12 October 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  3. Graham Williams, Peter Lush, David Farrar (November 2009). "The British Rugby League Records Book [Page-108…114]". London League Publications Ltd. ISBN 978-1-903659-49-6
  4. Cook, H.B. (1965). Programme - St. Helens versus Other Nationalities. St. Helens Rugby F.C. Ltd.
  5. "…and win at Crystal Palace". totalrl.com. 31 December 2011. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
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