Jones enjoying ‘healthy rivalry’

STEPHEN JONES and Ronan O’Gara are used to going hammer and tongs at each other and this British & Irish Lions tour is no different.

Or is it? Because as well as being rivals for the No 10 jersey in the Test series, they are once again team mates with a common cause.

The fact Ian McGeechan felt he didn’t need to bring a specialist goalkicking coach with him to South Africa speaks volumes for the trust he puts in his two outside halves. And well he might.

O’Gara holds almost every goalkicking and points record there is in Irish rugby and Jones is rapidly approaching the legendary Neil Jenkins with his Welsh exploits. So there wasn’t really any need for anyone to tell them how to do it.

And so far, so good. O’Gara opened with a perfect seven out of seven goalkicks against the Royal XV, scoring 22 points in the match, while Jones landed eight out of nine as he notched 18 points against the Golden Lions.

With James Hook chippinged in with a perfect three out of three conversions when he came on as a replacement on Wednesday night, it meansing the Lions have only missed one shot at goal from 19 attempts to date.

Goalkicking proved vital in to the Lions’ victory in the series in 1997, when Jenkins kicked the Boks to death in the first two Tests. Just as well, then, that he has passed on a few tips to Jones.

“We haven’t got a kicking coach with us, but that’s not a problem. I get on very well with Rog and I like bouncing things off him,” said Jones.

“Neil Jenkins gave me a tip sheet before we came out to South Africa and that is helping us prepare. The more kickers we have across the board the better and it was great to see Leigh Halfpenny join us this week.

“There is a healthy rivalry between myself and Rog, as there is between so many of the players in the Lions squad. I have a huge amount of respect for him. Just look at what he has achieved. The statistics don’t lie.”

Those sentiments don’t equate to paper talk. The two players vied for the outside half jersey on the 2005 tour, with Jones playing in all three Tests, and were more recently in the thick of the battle in the Six nations at the Millennium Stadium.

With Ireland chasing their first Grand Slam in 61 years it seemed to the home fans that a Jones drop goal had won the game. Cue an O’Gara special in response to swing the pendulum the other way.

Then Jones got a final crack with an injury time penalty from half-way. It proved too far and he looked a sorry site with his head bowed as the final whistle went no sooner had just as his potential match winning kick come up short.

The Irish celebrations began, but O’Gara knew what had to be done. He headed straight for his opposite number, who had clinched Grand Slams with Wales in 2005 and 2008, and swapped jerseys with him there and then.

All you can see in the pictures of the Irish celebrations is O’Gara wearing a red jersey. Now that is a sign of mutual respect.

“I enjoyed the 2005 experience with the Lions, but it is all about winning at this level. It is a massive honour to play for the Lions, but you want to play in a team that wins a Test series,” said Jones.

“A lot of things are different from 2005. There is a smaller squad, preparations have been good and we have come together very well.”

O’Gara will get his next chance to push for a Test place against the Free State Cheetahs on Saturday. And no doubt Jones will be the first man onto the pitch with him for the warm up – just as he was in Rustenburg for the opening game.