Neath rugby followers will be saddened to hear that Darryl Jones, former player and coach of Neath RFC, has passed away.

Darryl was a very good schoolboy soccer player but he ‘converted’ successfully to the oval ball and played centre for Neath debuting at Llanelly in 1964.

He taught locally at Llangatwg then at his alma mater Neath Grammar School taking a year off to extend his studies at Oxford University where he made a brief playing comeback and captained the Dark Blues from outside-half in their 6-16 defeat by Cambridge in the 1972 Varsity Match.

He succeeded the redoubtable Ron Trimnell as 1st XV coach at Neath Grammar School which had such a glorious rugby tradition and he continued in that role at the same venue through education changes with Dwr-y-Felin Comprehensive School and then Neath College when tertiary sixth form education was introduced to the area.

Darryl took charge of the highly successful Neath College team which won multiple Colleges, Schools and Anglo-Welsh titles. He was fortunate in having a bounteous catchment area full of gifted young players – but they still needed to be coached, guided, organised and selected to fulfil their talent.

In 1995/96 he became head coach of Neath RFC with the young Lyn Jones as his eager assistant. Grafting a host of talented young backs onto an already-formidable pack proved a winning formula for the All Blacks who, led by the imperious Gareth Llewellyn, won the first Welsh league of the ‘professional’ era.

Darryl also coached or held director of rugby roles at Aberavon, Bristol, Coventry and Newport RFC’s but it is as a guide to talented young players that he will always be remembered and he never wavered from his belief which ran : “Give me a group of boys from the Neath area – Skewen and Briton Ferry up to Banwen – and I’ll produce a rugby team to beat the best.”

Darryl Jones influenced more than a generation of rugby footballers in the Neath area and he will live on in the memories of his many charges.

MP