AT 5’11” and 14 stone 9lbs Lee Jones would have been considered a formidable specimen as a winger in any other era but it is hard to escape the conclusion that the 29-year-old was something of a victim of size-ism during his wilderness years, writes Kevin Ferrie.
More than five years separated his first four appearances, as Scotland were ‘whitewashed’ under Andy Robinson during the 2012 Six Nations and his fifth in the win over Australia this year and Jones acknowledges that for whatever reason previous coach Vern Cotter was not a fan.
“It was a long time, five and a half years since I played at match at Murrayfield,” he said.
“To be back there at the weekend was special. Selection can be a subjective thing that can come down to coaches making decisions.
“For me it was just a case of putting my rugby on the park and if that was good enough to be selected, great. Selection for the summer tour was a big achievement for me and to be back playing at Murrayfield was special as well.”
In between times he beefed up a fair bit, but Jones reckons that the knowhow gained in the interim was as much of a factor in his recall immediately fellow Borderer Gregor Townsend – who had previously taken him from Edinburgh to Glasgow Warriors – took charge of the national side.
“I naturally put a bit of weight on, although I wouldn’t say that was the reason,” he said.
“Experience in general was probably most important. Even when I wasn’t selected for Scotland I was a better player than I was in 2012, which is purely on experience.
“After moving from Edinburgh to Glasgow the major improvement was on my defence, which I feel is a real strength now. Five years is a long time in professional rugby to gain a lot more experience. Mentally as well there have been ups and downs, whereas when I was first selected in 2012 there hadn’t been a lot of low points in my career, it had all happened very quickly, but sport’s not like that and I got to see that in those five years between caps.”
The change of club was clearly also hugely important, not least given the way the Glasgow Warriors management has now stepped up to the national team.
“Gregor was very confident in the way he brought me to Glasgow from Edinburgh and has shown confidence throughout but especially in the last couple of years in terms of game time for Glasgow.,” said Jones. “That’s allowed me to get some consistency of performance so I owe him a lot for showing that confidence in me when others didn’t. It’s paying off now because he knows me as a player.”
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