Roy and HG had ball boy Jones pegged

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player.

FINE judges that they are, Roy and HG had Luke Jones pegged from the start.

The year was 2002 and courtesy of his dad winning a competition, 11-year-old Jones ran the match ball for a Bledisloe Cup Test onto Telstra Stadium.

The ground announcers, Roy and HG, commentated the moment and in a classic YouTube video that was played at Jones' 21st, Nelson declares: "You just have to squint halfway and, gee, he reminds me of Ealesy so much."

Saturday night in Melbourne, 12 years on, Jones will run onto the Test arena again in a real Wallabies jersey, and go some small way to proving HG Nelson right.

The 23-year-old will be one of three potential Wallabies debutants on the bench against the French, alongside Rebels teammate Laurie Weeks and Force hooker Nathan Charles.

Jones said the chance to debut in front of a hometown crowd was "very, very special", and probably edged the excitement factor – just – of his childhood encounter with the Wallabies.

"My old man won a radio competition, I think 2GB. It was to run the ball out for the 2002 Bledisloe," Jones said.

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player.

"They had Roy and HG doing the commentary over the top.

"I couldn't wipe the smile off my face, I had a signed jersey on. I was over the moon."

When looking for ways to end Australia's Bledisloe Cup drought, Jones could well be the Wallabies' lucky charm. He delivered the match-ball for the last game in which Australia won the prized urn, and shared the party in the dressing rooms afterwards.

He may have brushed past the only other active survivor from that party, then assistant coach Ewen McKenzie.

"They had the big Cup there. Everyone was celebrating and drinking from it, and I was trying to go around getting my jersey signed. It was pretty incredible," Jones said.

Just eight years later, an 18-year-old Jones made his Super Rugby debut for the Force alongside one of those Wallabies – Nathan Sharpe – and after becoming a foundation Rebels player in 2011, has long been touted as a future Test player himself.

Rebels Luke Jones (L), Scott Higginbotham (C) and Laurie Weeks are all on the bench this week. Source: News Corp Australia

Jones turned to his childhood mate and new Wallabies captain Michael Hooper for advice on how to handle the step up.

"We went to school from year six together," Jones said. "He said there is a reason why you have been picked. They are picking you for your style. Just play to your full ability."

Weeks is also bursting with pride after winning a Test debut four years after first being called into a Wallabies camp by Robbie Deans.

The tighthead prop said he feared his chances had passed in subsequent years, but the arrival of Tony McGahan at the Rebels turned it around.

"He really got stuck into me and made me realise I wasn't working to my full potential, and wasn't training as hard as I thought I was," Weeks said.

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player.

"He made it clear to get to the next level you have to raise everything you do to the next level."

Sitting alongside Weeks and Jones on the pine will be a more experienced Rebels teammate, Scott Higginbotham, who is making his return to Wallabies for the first time since 2012.

The Melbourne skipper missed the 2013 Test season after needing shoulder surgery.

"It's a tough road back but I had a good pre-season, and enjoyed Super Rugby and the captaincy this year," Higginbotham said, adding he had faith his Rebels teammates could handle Test rugby.

"They'll be fine. They're mature. Weeksy I think is older than me and Jonesy is mature for a young age … he has got his opportunity from hard work.

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Roy and HG had ball boy Jones pegged

Dengan url

http://sportlivestyle.blogspot.com/2014/06/roy-and-hg-had-ball-boy-jones-pegged.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Roy and HG had ball boy Jones pegged

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Roy and HG had ball boy Jones pegged

sebagai sumbernya