Sir Michael Jones: Perfectly balanced both on and off the field

People speak of having balance in life; a need to combine what is important to them.

Sir Michael Niko Jones had balance, both on and off the field. The great All Black had his Christian faith, family, and rugby to provide the pillars to give him happiness and contentment in life.

It may be generalising, but a balanced person can make good decisions and think with certainty. Good players are often good people, which is one of the requirements of being an All Black.

As James Kerr wrote in his book Legacy, “no dickheads allowed”. If you observe the players in many sports who run into trouble, they are often people without balance.

Alcohol, drugs, training and playing make up their lives, but they are missing what is important to lead a good, varied life.

The players who I have written about so far all appeared to have led good lives and Michael Jones (I will omit the ‘Sir’ for now) is no exception.

Along with Richie McCaw he presents himself as living a life without fault and seems to have made good decisions in what direction his life will go. Maybe there is more to them but looking in from the outside, they have led exceptional lives.

(Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

Jones was able to make the right decisions based on what was right for him. If you have that grounding it makes life clearer and more concise.

His Christian beliefs excluded him from playing on Sundays, which would have taken enormous courage to separate himself from his fellow players. Would an average player have been treated so leniently? Probably not.

His All Blacks coaches were in full support of his decision, but it did lead to his exclusion from the 1995 All Blacks touring party to the South African World Cup.

His ‘no play on Sunday’ stance would have made him unavailable for the quarter- and semi-finals.

His balanced life extended to his persona as the ‘Iceman’, which came from his cold demeanour on the field. This contrasted with his quietly spoken, polite, humble personality.

His on-field exploits were different to his off-field nature. His fearsome tackling led to him quoting from the Bible, that it is better to give, than to receive!

Jones’ rugby journey can also be divided into a career of two halves, with the first half as an openside flanker, then due to injury, the second half as a blindside flanker.

His life was also balanced between being a Samoan and a New Zealander.

(Credit: Getty Images)

Sir Michael Jones was born in Auckland on April 8, 1965. He was a ‘Westie’ from Te Atatu South and attended Henderson High School.

A precocious rugby talent, Jones would establish a name for himself from an early age as someone who could dish it out to much older opposition.

He inspired Henderson High to compete more formidably against the formerly unbeatable Kelston Boys High and Auckland Grammar.

His exposure at the Waitemata Rugby Club following school led to recognition from Auckland coach John Hart, and he was soon in the provincial team in 1985 against South Canterbury.

He scored three tries on debut, which became a common theme. Jones would also play for the NZ Colts at this time.

Jones’ father, who passed away when Jones was only four years old, was a New Zealander, but his mother was Samoan.

This gave him the opportunity to play one match for Western Samoa in 1986. I am not sure if the rules today would allow that. He also toured with the New Zealand Barbarians on a British tour in 1987.

He was pushed by family to pursue his dreams back in New Zealand, and this inspiration fortified him to secure selection in the All Blacks’ squad for the inaugural World Cup in 1987.

Jones, according to Mike Brewer and Alan Whetton, was a quiet addition to the squad but over time became more outgoing and was eventually a senior member of the team.

His guitar playing helped to overcome any inhibitions. Alan Whetton roomed with Jones and became his mentor.

The 1987 Rugby World Cup was an opportunity for the All Blacks to restore faith and relationships with New Zealand rugby fans after events including the Cavaliers tour in 1986. Players went to the rural areas of New Zealand and were billeted by the locals.

Jones began his All Blacks career aged 22 years old against Italy in the opening World Cup match and he quickly made a name for himself by scoring the first try of the tournament.

I know those with a keen eye will say that the first try was actually a penalty try! With typical modesty, he said “he only had to dive for the line”.

“It was just a fantastic season in my life really, in many ways just to be selected for the All Blacks was a dream come true in the first instance and then to be playing in New Zealand, in front of our home crowds and in front of our own people and it was the inaugural World Cup,” Jones told Total Rugby Radio.

Jones played in the final against France and three other games. He dreamed of scoring his first try for the All Blacks as a kid.

When John Kirwan scored his famous solo try against Italy, you will see Jones tracking him the whole way, hopefully waiting for a final pass as all good flankers should!

(Photo by Russell Cheyne/Getty Images)

“The 1987 tournament was his time, the brilliant and instant flowering of a remarkable talent. Grace, balance, courage, strength, speed, ball skills … you name it, and Jones had it,” reported rugbyworldcup.com.

Once the tournament was over, the All Blacks returned to their jobs, as this was still the amateur era.

Jones went back to university, Zinzan Brooke did electrical work, Sean Fitzpatrick went to a builder’s site and Murray Pierce and John Gallagher were both police officers.

Jones was also back playing club rugby for Waitemata against fellow All Blacks Alan and Gary Whetton in front of a lot less than 50,000!

Jones also played in the 1991 World Cup, won by Australia, but missed three games due to his Christian beliefs.

Jones’ career was dramatically affected by serious injuries. Oh, what he could have achieved without them!

A horrible knee injury in 1989 against Argentina was, according to the doctor, “one of the worst he had seen”. It was comparable to “being hit by a car travelling at 40 kilometres per hour”.

I remember watching it and thinking he will not come back from that one. But due to dedicated work he did come back and often did not wear a knee bandage to confuse the opposition.

It was a major relief to him and his fans that he got through his comeback game unscathed, which is a nerve-wracking time. His speed was down however, and he chose to move to the blindside flank from the openside.

He became a different player, not running out in the open but more in the engine room where his fierce tackling and strength were such assets. Two fine open flankers in Josh Kronfeld and Andrew Blowers were also coming through at that time.

(Photo by Richard Heathcote – World Rugby via Getty Images)

A broken jaw also made him unavailable for the 1993 tour of England and Scotland. However, he was an integral part of the record win of 43-6 against Australia at Athletic Park in 1996.

It was often described as the perfect wet weather game. It was some of the best rugby you will see played in miserable wet and windy conditions.

Jones was part of arguably the greatest All Blacks team ever. As The Herald‘s rugby writer Wynne Gray correctly observed, “there were no duds in the team” that day.

Jones was once again the first try scorer. He would have been a good bet at the TAB for first scorer in many games!

The curtain was coming down on Jones’ career in 1998, when he was dropped from the All Blacks at the age of 33, due to the major injuries on his body.

During his career he was also a member of an extraordinarily successful Auckland provincial team and the Auckland Blues. The Auckland team had a magnificent line-up and dominated New Zealand rugby.

They won nine NPC titles and defended the famed Ranfurly Shield a record 61 consecutive times. The Blues won the inaugural Super 12 competition in 1996 and the competition the following year. Jones led the Auckland Blues in 1997 after taking over from Zinzan Brooke.

Jones played 55 international matches out of a possible 90 games, showing the effects of his injuries. He fully retired from all rugby in 1999.

A coaching career soon followed when he took over from John Boe and coached Samoa in 2004.

An intelligent, well-spoken man, Jones graduated from Auckland University with three degrees, both a Bachelor and Master of Arts and a Bachelor of Planning.

In 1997 he was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to rugby and in 2003 Jones was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame.

A knighthood followed in 2017 for services to the Pacific community and youth. He has also been awarded a Samoan chiefly title of La’auli and Savae from his extended family.

Jones was also elected to the New Zealand Rugby Board of Directors in 2018.

(Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

“His ability to bring people together, to understand different perspectives and diverse cultures, and to lead through his own actions will be a valuable addition,” chairman Brent Impey commented.

Jones has three children with his wife Maliena, including son Niko, who is establishing a name for himself in the footsteps of his legendary father.

He has become a proponent of a number of Pacific economic and social transformational organisations for Pacific people in New Zealand and the Pacific region. Robin McConnell wrote a biography in 1994 about Jones titled Iceman: The Michael Jones Story.

On a personal note, when the All Blacks paraded up Queen Street in 1995 I believe it was, I was working at a well-known outdoor clothing store, and as the All Blacks passed I gifted one of our expensive fleece jumpers to Jones, who asked me “are you sure?”. I often wonder if he still has it and what our upper management thought!

Jones is quite simply a legend in New Zealand rugby and will always be one of the first players written down in a greatest All Blacks team list.

There will always be a comparison with Richie McCaw, but we can solve that by having McCaw at openside flanker and Jones on the blindside, what a combination! Fans of Jerome Kaino may disagree.

Jones is a community leader as well as being an All Blacks great. His devotion to supporting Pacific people is exemplary.

The rugby injuries he suffered would have been the end for lesser players, but he found a way to continue and adjust to a new role.

It is tempting and possibly wrong to think of the what ifs, but what if Jones had not suffered his injuries? What further accomplishments would he have fulfilled?

Sir Michael Niko Jones is a Pacific rugby and community hero and a favourite of mine.