Jones, now 36, coached Ireland's senior players at just 29 years of age. Photo: David Ramos/Getty Images
When you speak to Felix Jones' former coaches and teammates, it is clear that the new England defensive coach has squeezed every last drop out of himself as a player.
«I think Felix would be the first to say he doesn't have the most well-rounded skill set,» Rob Penney, his Munster coach, told Telegraph Sport. “What he lacked in some aspects, he made up for with energy, passion and speed of work, which was undeniable.”
It's a clichéd image of a player who lacked raw talent but outperformed his contemporaries through work ethic and boxing ability. Jones had the single-minded determination and razor-sharp intellect necessary to overcome any obstacle thrown his way.
There is no happy ending to this tale, however, as Jones' playing career was marked by a series of devastating injuries. He won 13 caps for Ireland and a Magners League cap with Munster in 2011, but missed out on World Cup qualifying twice and was forced to retire aged just 28.
Jones, who was intercepted here during the Munster match against Ulster, did not have an impressive professional career. Photo: Peter Muhly/AFP
But where one door closes, another opens, and what slipped through Jones' hands as a player he more than grasped as a coach. You can probably count on one hand how many coaches have a couple of World Cups on their resume by the age of 36, but few of his contemporaries are surprised by the speed of his rise.
Gerry Flannery, his former Munster teammate and Irish hooker whom he will succeed as Springboks defense coach, says Jones's intelligence and determination to forge his own furrow have characterized Jones from the start of his career. For a degree in classics at University College Dublin, he wrote a 10,000-word dissertation on Greek columns. He subsequently received a master's degree in sports psychology.
Perhaps more impressively, having been born and bred in Dublin, he realized he would struggle to make it in Leinster, so he crossed the great Irish rugby divide by moving to Munster. “It shows his strength of character,” Flannery said. “Not many players take this step, but he got the hang of it right away.”
I was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to walk anymore
The move to Munster is where the tale of what could have been begins. In just his sixth game for Munster, Jones buried his head in a tackle. “All I thought was, ‘OK, contact is here, get your head down,’ but then I heard a crunch,” Jones told the Irish Examiner. «I thought to myself, 'Oh God, this is not good.' He was later told that his cervical vertebrae had been dislocated. In simple terms, he broke his neck. He feared he would never walk again and was told categorically that his playing career was over.
But after a grueling rehabilitation process, he began playing again. Four games after his return, he tore his ACL, meaning another six months out. He returned midway through the 2010/11 season, helping Munster win the Magners League. He was called up to Ireland's World Cup training squad and made a very impressive first start against France when he rose for a high ball and heard another crunch. This time it was his leg.
“He played phenomenally well in those warm-up games and had a good chance of starting at the World Cup, but then he suffered a very serious lisfranc [leg injury],” Flannery said. “I worked with him and saw how hard he worked to come back. It was devastating. I felt sorry for him, especially when he put himself in such a phenomenal position. Sports can be so cruel.”
During this break, Jones began performing in teammate Barry Murphy's band Hermitage Green, playing the bodhran, a frame drum. Jones returned to full fitness but suffered a shoulder injury in the PRO12 semi-final defeat to the Ospreys, ruling him out of New Zealand's tour to Ireland.
“People say, ‘It takes a lot of character to do what you did,’ but I don’t think so,” Jones told the Examiner. “When you only have one option, which other option will you choose?” So he kept working, making the 2015 World Cup training squad again, but this time missing out on selection. However, soon after, another serious neck injury led to the end of his career.
“The best players do not make the best coaches”
Penny, now Crusaders head coach, left Munster shortly before Jones retired but had already identified him as his future coach and remains a close confidant. “Felix has probably reached his threshold as a player,” Penney said. “Often what happens with players like Felix who haven't had the opportunity to get to the highest level is that they look for a way to become the best player they can be. So their depth of understanding of the game and why they can do what they can and what they can contribute adds to their level of understanding as a coach.
“Sometimes the best players don't understand why they do what they do, and they hate trying to coach others because they can't pass those lessons on. It's learning a skill that develops if you don't have a depth of understanding of how you did it as a player and how you overcame obstacles. Felix had it all because he had to compete at the highest level.»
Jones, second from left, was working. with Rassie Erasmus (second from right) in Munster. Photo: Diarmuid Green/Getty Images
This transition began almost immediately when he was included in the Munster coaching staff under Anthony Foley and then future Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus when he was seconded to the Republic of Ireland squad under Joe Schmidt while still 20 years old. “There aren’t many industries where you can get to the top level right away, but it’s also a big challenge,” Flannery said. “To come and coach your peers, guys like Peter O’Mahony, when he must have been 29, is bananas. It's incredibly difficult. It was hard enough for me to do that when I was 35. I think what Felix did in Munster was as impressive as winning the World Cup.”
Both Flannery and Penny are convinced that Jones' upward trajectory will only continue. with England. “It was great to watch him win a couple of world championships from afar,” Penny said. “He is heart and soul committed to everything he does and is confident he will bring that energy to England.”
Flannery agrees. “His breadth and depth of knowledge of the game is virtually unmatched,” Flannery said. “England players have a difficult journey ahead of them, but it will make them better players.”
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