scrumblebee Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Sorry if this is in the wrong forum. Just stumbled upon the wikipedia page of a 1990's dual-code international called Mark Jones, where some of the details surprised me to say the least. He played for Hull FC in the early 90's, but living in Wales I recall this player plying his trade for Ebbw Vale in union in the mid-to-late 90's. While he was very hard, sometimes accused of being a 'thug', even in the 15-man code he looked a little slow and not a particularly effective ball-carrier to put it mildly. To my astonishment he apparently won a cap for Great Britain RL in 1992, even more strangely when he won a rare Wales RU cap in 1998, (against Zimbabwe and we had about 30-odd players out injured) his wikipedia page suggests he was playing RL for Warrington at the same time?! Just wondering if any RL experts could confirm or refute this information..? Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrumblebee Posted March 1, 2015 Author Share Posted March 1, 2015 ...and no I'm not saying any of that to his face Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Frightful Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Mark Jones signed for Hull FC in 1991 and left for Warrington three or four years later. When Hull signed him the Hull Daily Mail took a photo of him alongside the two smallest Hull players they could find, presumably to impress the public. But he was cr ap. He had the physique to be an immense talent but had the heart of a mouse. It was ironic that he signed for Warrington because I remember him "playing" for Hull in a game at Wilderspool when I think he got sent off and was spat upon by one or two Wire fans as he walked off, I know this as I was only a few yards away and, to be honest, felt like spitting on the useless tw@ myself. Don't know if this info is any use to you but there it is. Hull FC....The Sons of God... (Well, we are about to be crucified on Good Friday) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrumblebee Posted March 1, 2015 Author Share Posted March 1, 2015 Mark Jones signed for Hull FC in 1991 and left for Warrington three or four years later. When Hull signed him the Hull Daily Mail took a photo of him alongside the two smallest Hull players they could find, presumably to impress the public. But he was cr ap. He had the physique to be an immense talent but had the heart of a mouse.Thanks for the quick response.Yeah this is exactly how I remember him playing for ebbw vale, the sort of guy you would absolutely want to stand behind in a bar fight but an awful rugby player. Staggered how he ever got selected to play for GB, did they have a lot of injuries? maybe they had one of those 'we have to pick a couple of Welshmen in the team' quotas? I assume he got sent off for fighting..? That was the only thing he was good at and presumably the reason Hull showed an interest in signing him in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deluded pom? Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 I can't recall him being very aggressive in a Hull shirt. A plodder is how I'd describe him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burnleywelsh Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Mark Jones won quite a few Welsh RU caps, into double figures if I remember. Mind you, he was playing for Neath at the time, during the mid eighties half the Neath team were selected for Wales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futtocks Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 The name didn't really ring a bell, so I Googled him and one of the results had the title "Your worst ever Hull FC foreign 17". Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. Ralph Waldo Emerson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Frightful Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 The name didn't really ring a bell, so I Googled him and one of the results had the title "Your worst ever Hull FC foreign 17". Pretty impressive, apart from the fact he was Welsh and could only loosely be described as "foreign". As you can imagine, the competition to make that team must be rather intense. Hull FC....The Sons of God... (Well, we are about to be crucified on Good Friday) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirteenthman Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 He wasn't playing for Warrington in 1998 - his last game was in 1996. Pretty average player from what I remember. Surprised to read that Wales RU played Zimbabwe - I assume they've not faced each other too often since? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrumblebee Posted March 1, 2015 Author Share Posted March 1, 2015 He wasn't playing for Warrington in 1998 - his last game was in 1996. Pretty average player from what I remember. Surprised to read that Wales RU played Zimbabwe - I assume they've not faced each other too often since? Don't think so, that game was really just a warm-up match during the infamous South Africa tour of 1998 when Wales got handed a 90-point drubbing, a real high point for Welsh rugby union. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrumblebee Posted March 1, 2015 Author Share Posted March 1, 2015 The name didn't really ring a bell, so I Googled him and one of the results had the title "Your worst ever Hull FC foreign 17". Might not mean much in league terms but he's at no.13 in this list of Welsh rugby's top 50 'hardest men'. http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/welsh-rugbys-50-hardest-men-1885023 ..as you can imagine, quite a few dual-coders in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ullman Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Mark Jones signed for Hull FC in 1991 and left for Warrington three or four years later. When Hull signed him the Hull Daily Mail took a photo of him alongside the two smallest Hull players they could find, presumably to impress the public. But he was cr ap. He had the physique to be an immense talent but had the heart of a mouse. It was ironic that he signed for Warrington because I remember him "playing" for Hull in a game at Wilderspool when I think he got sent off and was spat upon by one or two Wire fans as he walked off, I know this as I was only a few yards away and, to be honest, felt like spitting on the useless tw@ myself. Don't know if this info is any use to you but there it is. Got sent off at Wilderspool for flattening Gary Chambers. That punch was the single most impressive thing he did in a Hull shirt. I remember being in the Threepenny Stand when this old gadger behind us asked my son (who was about seven at the time) who his favourite player was. Without hesitation he said Des Hasler. The old gadger said to him "You know your rugby son, that Jones will never make a rugby player as long as 'e's got an 'ole in 'is ######" "I'm from a fishing family. Trawlermen are like pirates with biscuits." - Lucy Beaumont. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrumblebee Posted March 1, 2015 Author Share Posted March 1, 2015 Got sent off at Wilderspool for flattening Gary Chambers. That punch was the single most impressive thing he did in a Hull shirt. I remember being in the Threepenny Stand when this old gadger behind us asked my son (who was about seven at the time) who his favourite player was. Without hesitation he said Des Hasler. The old gadger said to him "You know your rugby son, that Jones will never make a rugby player as long as 'e's got an 'ole in 'is ######" Yup, he did this a lot playing for ebbw vale RU. Still can't imagine how the Great Britain RL cap came about though, didn't you have to be pretty good to get selected for GB? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futtocks Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Yup, he did this a lot playing for ebbw vale RU. Still can't imagine how the Great Britain RL cap came about though, didn't you have to be pretty good to get selected for GB? I think it was a match against France, who were even weaker internationally then that they are now. What a Kangaroo or Kiwi team would have done to him if he tried to get all fighty doesn't bear thinking. Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. Ralph Waldo Emerson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futtocks Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Might not mean much in league terms but he's at no.13 in this list of Welsh rugby's top 50 'hardest men'. http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/welsh-rugbys-50-hardest-men-1885023 ..as you can imagine, quite a few dual-coders in there. Hardest men in Rugby Union usually means those who shewed their "heroism" by going in for a flashy tackle after a player had already scored a try, or the eye-gouging, blind-side punching and stud-raking of the pack's hypocritically celebrated "dark arts". Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. Ralph Waldo Emerson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Parksider Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I think it was a match against France, who were even weaker internationally then that they are now. What a Kangaroo or Kiwi team would have done to him if he tried to get all fighty doesn't bear thinking. Bang on, a substitute for GB In Perpignan 1992 On the back of the resurection of the Wales side (Bateman, Devereaux, Griffiths, Moriarty and Sullivan) that did well. Also Reilly the GB coach experimented with "34 players inc. 12 debutants" that year. and Jones sneaked in when Wigan players were excluded from that France game to play in an international sevens. Jones played 10 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deluded pom? Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Even Gerald 'Teflon' Cordle won a GB cap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolford6 Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Gerald Cordle was a good player. The only player I ever saw stop him on a five metre charge down the touchline to the corner was Gary Connolly. And, even if he was stood thirty yards away when a punch was thrown, he was always second man in. Under Scrutiny by the Right-On Thought Police Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auntie Linzi Morris Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Mark Jones made his debut for Warrington on 20th August 1995 and played his final game on 26th August 1996. He made 20 starts, 18 sub appearances and scored two tries. I remember him as being somewhere between decent and average. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirteenthman Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Mark Jones made his debut for Warrington on 20th August 1995 and played his final game on 26th August 1996. He made 20 starts, 18 sub appearances and scored two tries. I remember him as being somewhere between decent and average. I never realised that was his debut - I was at that game and I've still got the programme. Warrington v London at Wilderspool. It was London Broncos first game after their elevation to the top division for Super League in what was the Centenary Championship. Alan Langers brother Kevin was playing for the Broncos. I seem to remember Warrington won pretty easily. I'll quote the editor of the match programme from that game who was talking about the pre season Locker Cup match against Wigan - "Pack dominance has very much been a feature of the modern game and Wire fans have long awaited more power in this area. The buzzes created by Mark Jones and Dave King when making some surging runs give an early indication that much needed support in the boiler house has well and truly arrived." Ever the optimists, programme writers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ullman Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Got sent off at Wilderspool for flattening Gary Chambers. That punch was the single most impressive thing he did in a Hull shirt. I remember being in the Threepenny Stand when this old gadger behind us asked my son (who was about seven at the time) who his favourite player was. Without hesitation he said Des Hasler. The old gadger said to him "You know your rugby son, that Jones will never make a rugby player as long as 'e's got an 'ole in 'is ######" Thinking back, it might have been Gary Tees not Chambers. "I'm from a fishing family. Trawlermen are like pirates with biscuits." - Lucy Beaumont. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timtum Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Thinking back, it might have been Gary Tees not Chambers. I thought it was Gary Tees. He had spent all of the game - it was still first half IIRC - winding Jones up. Jones lamped him, Tees fell over, got up and laughed a lot as the Welshman stalked off to the tunnel with steam emerging from under his headband. I then crashed my car on the way home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ullman Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I thought it was Gary Tees. He had spent all of the game - it was still first half IIRC - winding Jones up. Jones lamped him, Tees fell over, got up and laughed a lot as the Welshman stalked off to the tunnel with steam emerging from under his headband. I then crashed my car on the way home. I'm having one of my more lucid moments today and I'm pretty sure it was Tees now. It wasn't the classic car in your avatar pic was it? "I'm from a fishing family. Trawlermen are like pirates with biscuits." - Lucy Beaumont. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timtum Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I'm having one of my more lucid moments today and I'm pretty sure it was Tees now. It wasn't the classic car in your avatar pic was it? Oh no, it was a far from classic Mini Metro.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timtum Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Rumour was when Wire signed Jones that they had paid a substantial fee to Hull FC for his services.... ...after seeing him play, it was one of the less believable rumours. You could never say though that he didn't try his best. I also seem to remember that on his return to union he was sent off in one of his early games for fighting with St Helens legend Stuart Jones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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