Newport Gwent Dragons lock Adam Jones has turned around his rugby career in the last few months and the former Scarlet is now preparing to carry his and the team’s momentum to Parc y Scarlets to face his old team on Friday.
“It goes to show how quickly rugby careers turn around really, it’s all month on month, week on week really, you’ve got to keep looking at the next game. Last season was testament to that, it was difficult but at the moment I seem to be back on top so I take nothing for granted. I just keep putting the hard work in and trying to play the best rugby that I can. It seems I’m getting better with age so I’ll keep going as long as I can.”
“There’s a great competition here in the second row, with Scott Morgan, Sidoli and obviously when Luke comes back as well, it’s very tight. I think the competition brings the best out of all of us.”
Particularly impressive was his performance in the Amlin Challenge Cup against Perpignan where he scored a try and put in a couple of pinpoint accurate kicks. “It goes to show the confidence the coaches have in all the players here, to go out and express themselves and if any player has the opportunity to make a kick, if it’s the right decision and as long as they’re positive in what they do, it can’t be a bad thing.”
“Everyone’s a rugby player and they’ve got to make decisions for themselves. It just happened to be a very very good kick! I think all the backs were a little bit surprised, I think it took the wind out of them really. It’s something I would do again.”
On going back to face his old team this weekend, Adam said “these derby matches are something we look forward to every season. It’s going to be a difficult match but I think that any regional player in Wales would definitely say these are the ones you get tested on. The Scarlets are a great team but we’ve got some great form and we’ve got the confidence now to go out there and turn them over.”
“We’ve missed those players (Welsh squad members) because at the start of the season they were away performing well at the World Cup and the boys here at the region had to stand up and be counted. I think we’ve done a great job so far this season. It just goes to show the strength we have at the region that those boys have gone out (on Wales duty) again and we’ve got the other boys who can step back up and take over as if nothing’s changed really. They’ve got big shoes to fill but I’m sure they’ll do a great job on the night.”
Gavin Thomas is another ex-Scarlet and Jones was keen to highlight the importance of his role at the Dragons. “I think Gavin is a little unlucky to be overlooked for the Wales setup as of late. His current form is fantastic and it was at the end of last year as well. When the international boys like Toby and Dan come back they rely on him and his experience as well. I wouldn’t doubt (that Gavin Thomas has been a factor in their development), he’s that good a player that he’s always helping anyone around him really. His approach to the game is always different in the way he looks at things that the younger players might have missed. So in that aspect he would’ve helped them along the way.”
