Head coach Jones delighted with Division 2 final win
This was despite Cheshire storming into a 31-7 lead after half an hour, through tries by Will Norris, Joe Sanders, Tom Akehurst and Ciaron Connolly, with their opponents fighting their way back to bring back memories of last year.
However, another Akehurst try and the boot of Mark Williams proved to be the difference, with the fly-half, who serves in the Royal Air Force, converting all five tries and kicking five penalties for a haul of 25 points.
Jones said: 'It was long overdue. We've been in this position quite a few times and we've had a good bunch of boys who have knitted well from quite early on.
'I'm pleased with that today, it's probably the biggest group of lads we've had in a long time – normally we're orientated around one club, like Macclesfield last year and Caldy the years before that, so it's good to have a good mix.
'We've not emphasised a lot what happened last year, but we ran away with it first half last year and lost by a point in the dying minutes.
'A big focus was making sure the bench was strong, so we could bring on experience, and we went from there.'
Cheshire's campaign has seen them use the facilities at Chester RFC for their training sessions, where their hard work in bringing a team together from the county's clubs has brought silverware.
Jones, who coaches at Championship club Caldy, hopes to compete in Division 1 of the County Championship in the coming years and loves the opportunity it gives players from Level 5 downwards in the rugby pyramid.
He said: 'This level is something the RFU really needs to buy into.
'It's massive, it's an opportunity for some of the smaller clubs, and some of the bigger clubs, to showcase what they have available.
'Equally, players that play in this get to go back and share the experience [with their clubmates] and I think it's required for the RFU to invest heavily towards it because it's brilliant.'
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South Wales Argus
6 hours ago
- South Wales Argus
Head coach Jones delighted with Division 2 final win
Twelve months ago, Cheshire saw a big lead against Oxfordshire evaporate in losing 38-37, but this time held their nerve in another try fest to triumph 50-38 against a Devon side who refused to go quietly. This was despite Cheshire storming into a 31-7 lead after half an hour, through tries by Will Norris, Joe Sanders, Tom Akehurst and Ciaron Connolly, with their opponents fighting their way back to bring back memories of last year. However, another Akehurst try and the boot of Mark Williams proved to be the difference, with the fly-half, who serves in the Royal Air Force, converting all five tries and kicking five penalties for a haul of 25 points. Jones said: 'It was long overdue. We've been in this position quite a few times and we've had a good bunch of boys who have knitted well from quite early on. 'I'm pleased with that today, it's probably the biggest group of lads we've had in a long time – normally we're orientated around one club, like Macclesfield last year and Caldy the years before that, so it's good to have a good mix. 'We've not emphasised a lot what happened last year, but we ran away with it first half last year and lost by a point in the dying minutes. 'A big focus was making sure the bench was strong, so we could bring on experience, and we went from there.' Cheshire's campaign has seen them use the facilities at Chester RFC for their training sessions, where their hard work in bringing a team together from the county's clubs has brought silverware. Jones, who coaches at Championship club Caldy, hopes to compete in Division 1 of the County Championship in the coming years and loves the opportunity it gives players from Level 5 downwards in the rugby pyramid. He said: 'This level is something the RFU really needs to buy into. 'It's massive, it's an opportunity for some of the smaller clubs, and some of the bigger clubs, to showcase what they have available. 'Equally, players that play in this get to go back and share the experience [with their clubmates] and I think it's required for the RFU to invest heavily towards it because it's brilliant.'
Daily Mirror
11 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Jon Jones urged not to make same mistakes as Conor McGregor
The former dual-weight UFC champion is open to returning to the cage just weeks after announcing his retirement - but has been issued a stern warning by an MMA legend UFC legend Daniel Cormier has advised long-time rival Jon Jones NOT to turn into former dual-weight champion Conor McGregor. Last month saw Jones hang up his gloves from MMA, with Tom Aspinall being bumped up to undisputed heavyweight champion. Despite capturing the title in 2023, Jones would only go on to defend the belt once - a knockout victory over Stipe Miocic last November. It seemed inevitable that Jones and Aspinall were headed for a clash, but Jones failed to publicly commit to fighting the British sensation. Just weeks after confirming his retirement, Jones announced that he had re-entered the drug testing pool - which he would need to fight again, reports All Out Fighting. The American MMA veteran also expressed interest in fighting at the White House after US president Donald Trump revealed his plans to host a UFC event there. Over recent weeks, Jones has been the hot topic on Cormier's YouTube channel, where 'DC' stated that his ex-opponent's antics reminds him of McGregor – but for all the wrong reasons. Speaking on the Good Guy/Bad Guy show, Cormier said: 'Jon Jones and I don't see eye-to-eye in most instances. And, boy, he's been great for my YouTube here this last couple months. Him flopping all over the place has been great for my YouTube. Please don't become what Conor has become in the media. 'Every time a big story breaks, Conor's like, I'm back, or I'm doing this. Don't do that. Don't try to make it about you when you voluntarily walked away from this. Conor didn't voluntarily walk away. Conor got hurt, and he left. He just hasn't come back. Jones voluntarily said I'm done. So now that he's done, don't try to make these stories about you whenever you're a guy that's supposed to have walked away from the game." Despite their ongoing feud, Cormier disclosed the one situation where he would back Jones. 'DC' expressed his desire to see a fellow American triumph in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. With rumours of the White House hosting the event, Cormier confessed he would even support 'Bones' if he decided to return from retirement for the significant occasion. "(It needs) a bad, bad American that's going to win," Cormier said. "It pains me to say, if we've got to send one bad American out there to get the job Jon Jones. I would cheer so hard for him! I would cheer so hard for him on the White House. I know you guys always say I'm hard on Jones, if we've got to send one American fighter out to the White House to get a dub, man, send Jon Jones out there." Jones recently admitted that he now 'likes' the idea of a fight against Aspinall. His comments came just days after making a dramatic retirement U-turn. The 37-year-old recently commented on a post on Instagram which depicted him fighting - and beating - Aspinall at the White House, with the British star left on the floor while Jones celebrated his victory. In response, he wrote: "I like this."
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14 hours ago
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Wales give Taulupe Faletau time to recover ahead of second Test against Japan
The 34-year-old number eight, a three-time British & Irish Lions player, was replaced early in the second half in last week's 24-19 opening Test defeat in Kitakyushu and did not train with the Wales squad on Tuesday. Wales interim head coach Matt Sherratt confirmed after the match Faletau's withdrawal had been tactical and scrum coach Adam Jones said his inability to train would not affect their selection decision. Jones said: 'With him, no. He has played more than 100 internationals and been a Test match player since 2011. 'If you don't look after those older players they will break so we are just looking after him, which is a key thing. 'If I was a 34-year-old player for Wales and someone offered me a session off, I would bite their hand off. ' Jones added: 'He is an older athlete and done what he has done in his career. He is entitled to have a little bit of break.' Lock Ben Carter has been released from the squad after he sustained a concussion on Saturday. Carter suffered a head injury after just 27 seconds in a heavy collision which forced referee Damian Schneider to immediately stop play. Carter underwent several minutes of treatment on the field and a stretcher was called before the the 24-year-old was substituted, to applause from the crowd. James Ratti came on as his replacement and Wales went on to suffer a narrow 24-19 defeat, their 18th successive Test loss.
