Benjamin Lewis Jones

Benjamin Lewis Jones

Benjamin Lewis Jones was born in Gorseinon on 11 April 1931 and educated at Gowerton Grammar School from where he represented Welsh Secondary Schools at full-back against France in 1948. He did national service in the Royal Navy and played in the Inter-Services' tournament at Twickenham. His club rugby was with Gorseinon, Neath and Llanelli. Known for his versatility, he gained ten caps at full-back, wing and centre for Wales between 1950 and 1952. In 1950 he joined the British Isles' tour of Australasia as a replacement -the first player to be flown out to join an overseas tour- and went on to be top scorer with 112 points in 12 matches, including the final test against New Zealand and the two tests against Australia. In November 1952 Lewis Jones signed for Leeds rugby league club and went on to become a legend in the 13-a-side code. In 12 seasons with Leeds he scored 2,920 points in 385 matches and gained Challenge Cup and Championship winners' medals. He also played in 15 tests for Great Britain, including the Ashes tour to Australia in 1954.