THE MEMORY REMAINS strong. It was 2 November 2019 at the International Stadium in Yokohama, Japan. South Africa had just won the World Cup. And there was Felix Jones standing with a winner’s medal hanging from his neck.
We had just finished asking a raft of the Springboks about the Irishman’s influence, which they raved about. The beers were flowing, Prince Harry was in the changing room getting amongst it, and it was all pretty raucous.
But there he was – an Irish fella with a World Cup winner’s medal. It bears repeating because Jones is the only one of his kind.
Maybe there will be a whole crop of them by the end of this year but Jones stands alone for now. He was 32 years old at that stage, his playing days having been cut short by injury four years before. Jones has made a huge success of his coaching career since being forced to hang up his boots.
It was confirmed today that Jones, still just 35, will join England at the end of this year when his Springboks contract runs out. Rassie Erasmus and co. did their best to keep Jones but his desire to be with his young family in Ireland as much as possible is said to have been a big part of his decision. That two of the biggest teams in the sport were battling for Jones’ services says it all.
Steve Borthwick and England are getting one of the best young coaches in the game, but Jones has stressed his total determination to finish on a high with the Boks as they bid to defend their title at the World Cup in France.
It shouldn’t really be a great surprise that Jones has turned out to be such a fine coach. As a player, he was hard-working to the point of being obsessive. He was a thoughtful student of the game too.
Those traits have translated into his current gig. Springboks players continue to be amazed by the sheer amount of work Jones gets through. There isn’t a single clip of the South Africans or their opponents that Jones hasn’t pored over, not a scenario he hasn’t pondered. In a detail-obsessed world, Jones is a level above most.
This all started when Anthony Foley got Jones back into Munster during the 2015/16 season to help on an informal basis. Jones had thrown himself into a Master’s degree in sport, exercise and performance psychology at UL, but he caught the coaching bug hard.
He was permanently installed as Munster attack coach when Rassie Erasmus then took over in 2016, and when the South African returned home to South Africa in 2017, he immediately tried to lure Jones to the Springboks.
Jones stayed put to work under Johann van Graan, as well as spending a week with Joe Schmidt’s Ireland in Japan in the summer of 2017, but he was ready to move on by 2019, having declined a contract extension offer from Munster. So it was that Erasmus convinced him to come aboard the Springboks ship a couple of months before the World Cup.
Jones initially focused on analysis but swiftly assumed more responsibility on the training pitch, particularly around skills and attack. The Irishman also impressed with his precise delivery to players during team meetings.
They lauded his contribution after the win over England in the final. Typically enough, Jones wasn’t interested in interviews post-match. He has never craved media attention and he successfully dodged the persistent Irish media for that entire tournament. Jones does his talking behind the scenes.
After the World Cup, Jones signed a new four-year deal as a Boks assistant coach but in a role that meant he could base himself in Dublin. He has still been a key part of the South Africans’ training camps and competitions – taking on more coaching responsibility – but in between, he has worked with their European-based players. Regular meetings and analysis work with those men means everything has stayed aligned.
As well as his World Cup medal and 2019 Rugby Championship success, Jones has a series victory against the Lions in 2021 on his CV. There are two more prizes on offer this year with the Rugby Championship and the World Cup title defence. Jones will put every ounce of his energy into finishing on a high.
Then it’s off to join Borthwick’s England in an as-yet-undefined assistant coach role. It’s natural to think that Jones will be tasked with leading the English attack but whatever his specific duties, he will bring top-level experience to the job as he once again links up with head of strength and conditioning Aled Walters, who also previously worked with Munster and the Springboks.
Who knows how things will stand when Jones makes his move at the end of the year? He could have a second World Cup winner’s medal. He could be joining an England team that’s just had a brilliant tournament. Or he may be coming in after the English hit rock bottom.
What we do know is that Jones is putting together a remarkable coaching CV and he’s still in his mid-30s. His decision not to renew in Munster back in 2019 couldn’t have worked out any better.
England have the resources to go after the best assistant coaches in the game. That’s exactly the category Jones belongs in.
It will be fascinating to see whether all this incredible experience Jones is building is to Irish rugby’s benefit in the future.
