As he prepares to kick off pre-season against Bath and Wasps, Scarlets’ and Wales fly-half Stephen Jones talks to Alex Mead…
How’s your summer going Stephen?
Very good, it’s all gone quickly though and I’m back to normality now I’m in my third week of pre-season training. I had five weeks off after the summer tour though which was lovely. I just chilled out, enjoyed bit of down time and caught up with some friends, it’s a always good to get a break from such a structured life as you have with rugby. Now we’re right back in it and refreshed so there’s no excuses.
Do you have any non-rugby based hobbies?
I just find things to do, myself, Dwayne and two other guys are opening up a restaurant in Llanelli. We’ve been on that case for a couple of years.
A couple of years?
Yeah basically we had to get a team to search for the right building, then pitch for the property, get the planning sorted – it’s taken a while.
What sort of restaurant is it?
It’s going to do seasonal food, mostly local produce – kind of a bistro-brasserie sort of place. There’s still a lot of work to do. We haven’t even got a name yet, we’ve had a few suggestions that we’re sifting through.
You’re a foodie then?
Yeah I like my food, it’s one of my main interests! I’m a rubbish cook though, I like my food, but I’m only good at the eating and not the cooking.
Back to the rugby, how was South Africa?
I enjoyed the experience but I was bitterly disappointed with the first Test and the way we played – we were well off the pace in a big way. The second Test was much better, we really upped the standard and for 60 minutes we were in the lead. We could’ve won if we’d had the rub of the green, but some things don’t always go your way. I was happy with the way we came back though, we played some good rugby and showed that we can do things if we just manage to keep hold of the ball.
What went wrong with the first Test then?
I’m not sure to be honest. We hadn’t played rugby for four or five weeks… South Africa were always going to be difficult on their own patch… Ultimately though there’s no excuse because we just didn’t front up – our defence wasn’t aggressive enough, in attack we spilt the ball too easily, we didn’t go through enough phases…
How do you look back on last season?
It was a tough season with Llanelli, we underachieved and didn’t play as we’d have liked, we were off the pace. From a personal point of view, I was away for a chunk for the World Cup and then Six Nations, but the results were still a huge disappointment.
What went wrong, did a lack of signings cost you?
I’m not sure about that, I don’t know about the management side of things I only look at the playing issue and not being efficient on the pitch cost us. We’re looking to address that and improve our game so that we’re competitive. There’s a new dawn here now with new players and new coaches.
Although a familiar face…
Yeah there is in that he [Nigel] is coming back but he’s brought in a new set-up of coaches and management.
So it’s not just back to old ways then?
It feels totally different, it’s a good environment to be in.
No Dwayne this year though?
Peely’s a class act, there’s no two ways about that. It’s fantastic for Sale to have him, he’s a good person too. But we’ve got a lot of good youngsters here so there’s going to be a good battle for the scrum-half spot.
As there is for the Welsh number ten jersey?
Hooky has been playing well for the Ospreys and the competition right through the Wales squad is healthy. And, aside from me, a lot of the squad is young too and hungry for success. You have to perform every week for your region to a high standard to get in – the bar’s definitely been raised so that you have to front up...
Excited about the new stadium?
It’s brilliant, it’s going to be ready for November. It’s fantastic, it’s flying up at the moment. All the boys are excited about it and while from our perspective it’s all about having good facilities, it’s important from the business side too.
Aims for the season ahead?
What’s important for us as a region is to get the winning habit and turn ourselves into a winning team.