For the second time in the week of a World Cup final, the Springboks put a former Irish international in front of the media, although the sight of Felix Jones was altogether more of a surprise.
The former Munster and Irish fullback, who won 13 caps between 2011 and 2015 under Joe Schmidt, prefers to keep a low profile. A World Cup winner with the Springboks four years ago, his rare presence at the Boks’ briefing in the grey suburbs of Presles, some 60k north of central Paris, was also his last, as he moves on to become an assistant coach with England after Saturday’s final against New Zealand in the Stade de France (kick-off 9pm local time/8pm Irish).
“Hard question,” he said after pausing when asked to sum up his time with the Springboks, seemingly becoming a tad emotional. “I don’t think I could sum it up. I could just say that I am really grateful, to not only the management but the players and the people behind the scenes. The greater rugby community in South Africa, the franchises, the coaches there have welcomed me. It’s been incredible.”
A junior All-Ireland winner in 2007 with Seapoint, where he began playing mini-rugby, Jones went to school in St Andrew’s College and after winning one cap with Leinster relocated to Munster in 2009, playing for them 90 times over six seasons before being forced to retire due to a neck injury at the age of 28.
He has some strong New Zealand links as well, having played with Doug Howlett and been coached by Rob Penney.
“Doug was my first roommate when I joined Munster as a young fullback/winger. I couldn’t believe my luck who I got roomed with,” he recalled happily. “I think Tony McGahan was our coach at that stage and I think he probably did that on purpose. I learned from one of the best there. Doug was a great mentor, a really good person, and somebody I stayed close with even after we retired from playing. I know he is now enjoying life back home.
“Rob [Penney] was a brilliant coach for my development. He changed the way I thought about the game, he really did. He changed the way even the current players in Munster, who still play and play for Ireland, played the game. Two great people.”
Jones cruelly missed out on the 2011 World Cup with an ankle injury sustained against France in a warm-up game and he didn’t make the cut in 2015 before retiring and becoming part of the Munster coaching set-up in 2016 as backs coach.
In 2019 he was brought aboard the Springboks coaching ticket. Having worked with Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber at Munster facilitated a quick transition. “Slotting in was very straightforward,” he says.
Initially hired to analyse opposition defences, Jones admits his role has grown organically since then. Often based at home with his family in Ireland, from where he could maintain closer links with the Springboks’ northern hemisphere-based players, he has always been part of the squad when they have been in camp and playing matches. Moving to England will allow him to stay closer with his family.
“It’s been tricky, but we were out there [in South Africa] for a good while during the Lions tour [in 2021]. We had a really good experience there. My boys were in a school in Paarl. They are back in Dublin now so I’m looking forward after next week to get a bit of time at home.”
He is highly respected within the Springboks squad. Noting Jones’s “work ethic”, Willie le Roux said: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him without his laptop! It’s the way he works, how he talks to us, how he’s involved. He helps us with our attack, our strike moves, the backs. He’s an unbelievable coach. It’s a privilege to work with him. I think the Springboks are really going to miss him. I’m just fortunate to have worked with him.”
Giving one little example of how Jones has improved him, the creative fullback added: “If I pass to one side I tend to fall away, and the pass looks forward. So, it’s about running forward and continuing to move forward.”
Backrower Kwagga Smith described Jones as “an amazing coach and person”, adding: “he spends hours and hours on footage going through stuff. All of us as Springboks are better players because of him.”
Smith cited how Jones worked on catching a fraction earlier. “Catch early and give yourself half a second more time on the ball to make a decision.”
Jones has always had an intense interest in the game, although he has seemed more animated, as well as visible, in this World Cup. “It was a World Cup semi-final,” he reasoned of last Saturday’s 16-15 comeback win over England. “We were behind on the scoreboard. We had to find some solutions.”
Now comes his last dance with the Springboks, and with Schmidt in the opposing box. Schmidt brought Jones to Japan on the 2017 summer tour as part of the Irish coaching ticket, and was quite concerned about his protege joining the Springboks before the 2019 World Cup.
Noting the All Blacks’ improvement since Schmidt and Jason Ryan became assistants, Jones said: “If I had to highlight one [area] I would say the ruck. It has been excellent. They do appear to be a very complete team. There has been development in their kicking game, the way they put you under pressure. I would say those two areas would be key.”
And so, the pupil comes up against the mentor.
