Ryan Jones facts for kids
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| Birth name | Ryan Paul Jones | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 13 March 1981 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Newport, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 196 cm (6 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 114 kg (17 st 13 lb; 251 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Bassaleg Comprehensive School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | UWIC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ryan Paul Jones MBE (born 13 March 1981) is a former international rugby union player from Wales. He played in different positions like number eight, blindside flanker, or second row. Ryan Jones was part of three amazing Grand Slam wins for Wales. These big wins happened in 2005, 2008 (when he was captain), and 2012. He is one of only a few Welsh players to have won three Grand Slams.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Ryan Jones was born in Newport. When he was younger, he played football as a goalkeeper for Bristol City until he was 14 years old. He started playing rugby union at age 17 to join his friends at Risca RFC.
Ryan Jones also studied at UWIC, which is now known as Cardiff Metropolitan University. He was a student there from 1999 to 2002. He played over 100 games for the university's rugby team and was captain in his last year. Ryan said that the university's focus on sports really helped him start his international rugby career.
Club Rugby Career
Ryan Jones began his club rugby journey with Newport RFC. He played just one game for them in May 1999. After that, he played 12 games for Bridgend RFC.
Moving to Regional Rugby
In 2003, Ryan moved to the Celtic Warriors when regional rugby started. When the Celtic Warriors team was closed down in 2004, he joined the Ospreys. The Ospreys won the Celtic League in 2004–05 and again in 2006–07.
Captaining the Ospreys
Ryan Jones became the captain of the Ospreys at the start of the 2007–08 season. As captain, he led the team to win the Anglo-Welsh Cup in 2007–08. They beat Leicester Tigers in the final game. The Ospreys also won the Magners League for the third time in 2009–10. Ryan was replaced as captain by his teammate Alun Wyn Jones in 2010.
Later Club Years and Retirement
On 24 March 2014, Ryan Jones signed a two-year contract to play for the English club Bristol Rugby. He played for Bristol during the 2014–15 season. Ryan Jones stopped playing rugby in 2015. He retired because of a shoulder injury that kept coming back, and doctors advised him to stop playing.
International Rugby Career
Ryan Jones played his first international game for Wales in November 2004 against South Africa. He was a key player in Wales' 2005 Grand Slam-winning team.
British & Irish Lions Tours
Ryan was not first chosen for the 2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand. However, he was later called up to join the team when another player got injured. He played well and was chosen to play in the first test match. He then started in the final two test matches.
In April 2009, Ryan was not initially picked for the 2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa. He was later called to join the team on June 9 after another player had a knee injury. But soon after arriving in South Africa, the Lions' medical team said he was not fit to play. This was due to head injuries he had received in an earlier Wales game.
Captaining Wales
In January 2008, Ryan Jones was chosen to be the captain of Wales by the new coach, Warren Gatland. In his first Six Nations Championship as captain, he led his team to win their second Grand Slam in four years.
In November 2008, Ryan Jones and Shane Williams were the first Welsh players to be nominated for the IRB International Player of the Year award. This award is given to the best rugby player in the world. Shane Williams won the award that year.
Ryan was also named captain of the Welsh team for the Autumn international games in 2009. During these games, Wales played against teams like New Zealand and Australia.
More Grand Slams and Records
Ryan Jones played in all five of Wales' 2012 Six Nations matches. He helped the team win their third Grand Slam in seven years. He also played a lot in the championship the next year, captaining Wales in three of the five games. Wales successfully defended their championship title that year.
Ryan Jones held the record for being Wales' most capped captain. He passed the record of 28 caps held by Ieuan Evans on 16 November 2012. Ryan's record of 33 caps as captain was later broken by Sam Warburton in March 2015.
In 2021, Ryan Jones was given the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) award. This was for his great contributions to rugby union and for his charity work in Wales.
International Tries
| Try | Opponent | Location | Venue | Competition | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Scotland |
Edinburgh, Scotland | Murrayfield | 2005 Six Nations | 13 March 2005 | Win |
| 2 |  Australia |
Sydney, Australia | Sydney Football Stadium | 2012 Summer Internationals | 23 June 2012 | Loss |
Post-Rugby Career
In February 2016, Ryan Jones was appointed as a joint Head of Rugby Performance for the Wales Rugby Union (WRU). He worked alongside Geraint John in this role. In January 2019, Ryan was promoted to become the WRU Performance Director. This was a new role within the Professional Rugby Board (PRB). However, less than two years later, in October 2020, Ryan resigned from his job at the WRU.
Personal Life
Ryan's father, Stephen Jones, was a police officer. Ryan is married to Charlotte. He has three children from his first marriage and three step-children with his second wife.
In 2022, Ryan shared that he was diagnosed with a health condition that affects memory and thinking, called early onset dementia. He also mentioned that he had been diagnosed with depression after he stopped playing rugby in 2015. This was thought to be a symptom of the later dementia diagnosis.
See also
In Spanish: Ryan Jones para niños
