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In this episode of the A Beer With series, we take time to have a chat to former All Black Ian Jones.
Ian Jones admits he is creature of habit. “I am not superstitious, but I like to do the same things,” Jones says.
“I liked to go to the same corner of the dressing room to get changed. I liked to put on my right boot, before my left boot. I liked to be consistent with everything I did.”
In 1990 before the third Bledisloe Cup test at Athletic Park, Wellington something odd happened.
“A light bulb blew its fuse” Jones explains.
“We were sitting there in this dark, dingy dressing room and I got a bad feeling about the game.”
The game was hideous! After scoring a try, Phil Kearns gave Sean Fitzpatrick the fingers and the All Blacks lost a 48-match unbeaten streak.
Such extremes were rare in Jones career. He was a model of consistency.
When he retired from test rugby in 1999, he was the most capped All Black lock with 79 tests. He played 35 consecutive tests.
Jones made his test debut against Scotland at Carisbrook, Dunedin in 1990. He marked the occasion with a try. By coincidence six years later he played his 50th test, again at Carisbrook and again against Scotland. On almost the same spot as six years before Jones scored another try.
Consistency of habit was something installed in Jones at a young age. He grew up in Fisher Terrace, Kamo and lived within 100 yards of some outstanding sportsman.
His neighbours included Bryan Young, an international cricketer, Blyth Tait, a winner of four Olympic medals in equestrian, Angela Brackenbridge, a New Zealand table tennis representative and Brian Maunsell, a New Zealand hockey player.
Jones older brothers Bruce and Greg were useful sportsman and his great-granddad Bunny Finlayson was an All Black. Jones recalls some of the carnage the ‘Fisher Terrace ‘gang’ would cause.
“When I was seven the whole gang was swinging from the crossbar of the goalposts at school; I rocked too far back, the goalposts came crashing down on us and I split my check.”
No such nonsense was tolerated at Kamo High School. Jones spent three years in the First XV and came under the guidance of two influential mentors, Frank Colthurst (All Black trialist) and Tuck Waaka (NZ Maori).
Jones says their passion for the game was “relentless” and there emphasis on skills was really important for his development.
“I am still good friends with both men. They spent a lot of time coaching the basic skills of the game which served me well later on. We weren’t the biggest team at Kamo, but we won a lot of games because of our superior skills.”
Evidently Waaka was captain of Bay of Plenty when they won the first National Provincial championship in 1976. He moved to Maungaturoto and bought the old court house. He removed the C and T in the title so when you drive past there is a big sign that says, ‘Our House’!
Jones soon made the North Auckland locking position “his house.” He debuted for the province in 1987 and played 66 matches. In his first season he survived a broken jaw, a punch in the head from Auckland and All Black prop Steve McDowell and the ‘gauntlet’. Jones elaborates on the ‘gauntlet’.
“We had this pre-game ritual where you had to run between two lines of teammates who would punch you all the way through. Apparently it made you play better.”
In 1988, Jones scored two tries against Wellington while marking incumbent All Black lock Murray Pearce. Pearce became a great mentor.
“Murray was someone I looked up to. He offered me advice and was one of the first people to congratulate me when I made my test debut.”
Jones made his All Black debut in 1989 and played six games on the UK tour.
The most memorable was against Welsh side, Neath. Neath had won 43 of its last 47 matches and scored 345 tries. Jones recalls Neath wasn’t very hospitable.
“When we showed up the dressing room door was locked so our coach Alex ‘Grizz’ Wyllie booted it down.”
The All Blacks won the game, 26-15. Fullback John Gallagher scored two tries and the locals were irate.
“Referee Fred Howard needed a police escort, but Daily Express correspondent Terry Godwin copped ever greater punishment. He was telephoning in his match report and claimed John Gallagher was the man of the match. A Neath supporter intruded and claimed Neath flanker Phil Pugh was the man of the match. When Godwin insisted Gallagher was the man of the match, he was strangled by the supporter.”
As a rookie in the 1991 World Cup, Jones was somewhat strangled. Though he respected fellow lock and Captain Gary Whetton, he found the Aucklander “aloof.”
The vibe in the All Blacks wasn’t great either and they were bundled out by Australia in the semi-finals. Jones improved his standing by starting all six games.
In 1992, Laurie Mains became All Black coach. Jones took a while to warm to Mains. Arduous training sessions might be a reason for this. Jones recalls some of Mains methods.
“The dreaded 150’s involved a 150-metre sprint after which you’d turnaround at halfway, trot back to the goal line and repeat. The most we did in a session was 25.”
“In 1992 in Brisbane a few of the boys had some beers on the town. Laurie concerned with our ruck defence made us do 120 ‘down, up’s.’ In driving rain we had to hit tackle bags and squat into a position to contest the ball at a ruck; 120 times with a hangover.”
It took a while for Mains methods to work. In 1992, the All Blacks lost a three test series to Australia, 2-1. Remarkably both sides scored the same number of points (58) across the series. Interestingly Va’aiga Tuigamala scored the first five-point try in a test for the All Blacks.
The tussle between Jones and John Eales was immense. In total they played against each other 16 times and split eight victories. Jones has the upmost respect for Eales.
“John and I played similar games. We were slightly built, but were skilful and quick. He was a tough opponent and is a good friend.”
Jones says the toughest opponent he faced in international rugby was Oliver Roumat. He played 61 tests for France and was a member of the 1994 team that beat the All Blacks twice.
Roumat was infamously kicked in the head by Irish lock Peter Clohessy and survived. Clohessy was known as “the Claw” and was banned for 26 weeks. He later opened a nightclub called “The SinBin” next to his Limerick boozer!
Jones never spent any time in the sin bin. In fact he was so respected he captained the All Blacks for the only time in 1992. In a midweek fixture, Orange Free State was defeated, 33-14; Jones scored a try.
On the same tour Jones rates the win over South Africa at Johannesburg as one of his finest in the All Blacks. Playing the Springboks for the first time since 1981, tries to Zinzan Brooke, John Kirwin and John Timu secured a 27-24 victory. Interestingly Danie Gerber who played for the 81 Springboks scored twice for South Africa.
“We were outstanding that day”, Jones recalls. “We were up 27-10 and never looked like losing.”
A valuable lesson was learned on that tour. Lifting in the lineout’s was permitted by local referees, but wouldn’t became a part of the game globally until 1996. Jones was forced to became a quicker jumper. What was Jones opinion of the eventual changes to the law?
“Lifting in the lineouts is one of the best things to have happened in rugby. It’s tided up a messy area of the game. You see multiple jumpers now and more attack from set-piece because the timing and quality of ball is better.”
Eventually the All Blacks got their timing right under Mains and later John Hart.
Inconsistent results between 1992 and 1994 was followed by a golden era between 1995 and 1997.
In 1995, the All Blacks were desperately unlucky to lose the World Cup final in extra time to the Springboks.
In 1996 and 1997 they were awesome, losing only one test match. Jones says the style of rugby the All Blacks played in this era “revolutionised the game.” They scored 181 tries in 34 tests.
“It was a privilege to play with guys like Jeff Wilson, Christian Cullen and Jonah Lomu. I was a fan like the spectators. We used the ball and beat teams with extreme fitness and professionalism.”
The obvious highlight was winning a first ever test-series in South Africa. The All Blacks beat the Springboks four times in 1996. Jones recalls the victory at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria that settled a seven-decade hoodoo.
“With about 15 minutes to play, I finished up with my leg pinned under a South Africa player. As the forwards blew over me, the top half of my leg twisted and I felt pain in my knee and ankle ligaments. In 56 previous tests I’d never once had to exit early. In arguably my most important test I was sidelined.”
Jones concedes “watching was harder than playing” and it was a “huge relief” to win. He admits he has never felt so “exhausted.” after a game of rugby.
In 1996 the All Blacks fielded the same forward pack in ten consecutive tests. Jones played a record 45 Tests with Robin Brooke. Jones pays tribute to Brooke.
“I first played with Robin in the North Auckland reps at school. He wasn’t the tallest player, but worked extremely hard. He was a great lineout forward with incredible ball skills.”
Continuity of selection made the transition to professionalism easy.
“The most important thing about the change to professionalism was that the players became aware of their value and how to negotiate contracts”, Jones says.
“The actual playing side of things didn’t change very much. Guys like Craig Dowd and Sean Fitzpatrick were fiercely competitive and never let our standards drop.”
When veterans Frank Bunce, Zinzan Brooke, Olo Brown and Sean Fitzpatrick all retired suddenly in 1998 the All Blacks form dipped badly. They lost five consecutive tests. Jones career fizzled out in 1999.
“We had an unprecedented clean out of experienced players. Never before had the All Blacks lost so much experience”, Jones says.
“There have been plenty of dark days in All Black rugby, but learning the lessons of the past is one of the strengths of All Black rugby.”
Jones is adamant the All Blacks will win the World Cup this year. He says they have the most skillful team and manage their 23 players better than anybody else.
Since retiring he has become respected television commentator and manages some property in the North Shore. He is a keen runner and swimmer and maintains good habits breed success.
“When I go fishing I always wear the same French jersey I swapped in a Test match. I always catch a lot of fish with it on.”
Did you know?
In 1983 while on a school rugby trip in Rarotonga, Jones met David Bowie.
In 1996, Jones scored the first hat-trick in Super Rugby for the Chiefs against the New South Wales Waratahs. Ross Filipo, who scored three tries for the Crusaders against the Force in 2007, is the only other lock to have scored a hat-trick in a Super rugby match.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.