Whites legend Robert Jones followed the Welsh tradition as a

supremely talented scrum-half.

Tenacious and tactically astute, Jones had all the hallmarks

of becoming a legend like fellow scrum-halves Gareth Edwards

and Terry Holmes.

However, despite his skills, he never got the chance to

truly shine for his country as he played in a Wales side that

was not very strong and had been weakened by defections to

rugby league.

Jones was just 20 when he made his international debut

against England in 1986.

He had been picked after a string of impressive performances

for Swansea.

His passing was a strength -particularly his trademark

reverse pass, which wrong-footed many a defence.

Jones's early international career was highly successful.

Within a year of his debut, he was part of the 1987 Welsh team

who finished third at the World Cup.

In 1988, Jones played a vital role in a first Welsh Triple

Crown since 1979.

Unfortunately, with Jonathan Davies among the players that

went north, Wales were no longer the formidable side they once

were.

That meant Jones often cut something of a forlorn figure on

the field when playing for Wales.

But his talents were certainly evident when playing for the

British Lions. Jones enjoyed one of his finest moments at the

heart of the Lions side that beat Australia in 1989. He played

a vital role as he played behind a pack that consistently won

the ball.

Also, Jones's box kicking got the Lions out of trouble,

preventing the Australians from gaining any real momentum in

the game.

After the 2-1 series win, he returned home a hero having

proved his world-class status, but things were to go from bad

to worse for Wales.

In the 1990 Five Nations, Wales lost all four matches. Then

Jones lost his place to the combative, if less gifted, Rupert

Moon.

He did, though, manage to bag a couple of tries in Wales's

demolition of Portugal in a World Cup qualifier in Lisbon later

in the year, as well as scoring his fourth and final try

against Scotland at Murrayfield.

Jones's last cap was the 24-23 defeat by Ireland which sent

Wales home from the 1995 World Cup.

He soldiered on with club rugby, making 286 appearances for

the Whites as well as brief spells with Bristol and

Cardiff.

Since hanging up his boots for good in 2002, Jones has gone

on to take up a coaching role with the Scarlets and has been a

regular TV pundit.

Fans will no doubt hope there will be more players in the

Jones mould to pull on the famous red shirt of Wales in the

future.