When he came onto the field as a replacement yesterday against Clifton, David Jones made his 200th league appearance for the club in a league career that started way back in March 1991, at home against Southend. He is the first Havant player to achieve this fantastic ‘milestone’.
David, who has rightly acquired the nickname among his playing peers as "The Legend", started in Havant minis and has played nearly all club rugby with Havant. While still a young Colt, and displaying an exceptional talent at scrum half, he made his first XV debut away at Sutton & Epsom, being awarded ‘man of the match’! When he left school and went to Swansea University, he was swiftly courted by the ‘All Whites’, but a serious accident cut short that avenue , and after graduation, David returned to ply his trade at ‘The Lane’ and immediately became a fixture on the 1st XV team sheet. David gained recognition at representative level, not as much as he should have, many would say. However he was a member of that Havant group of players that formed part of the London Division squad that played against Argentina, and South Africa 'B' at Twickenham, and Queensland at London Irish's ground in the late 1990s.
David is regarded as having the most natural ability of anyone in his era at the club, and the famous Jones dummy has been the scourge of all league defences over the years, including the likes of Coventry, Leeds and Rotherham. Although his ability to turn a game with a flash of individual brilliance has contributed to many famous league victories, he is also a hard physical player, and, although his career started at scrum half, he has equally graced fly-half, centre and full back. It was as a centre that he made his appearance yesterday.
‘The Legend’ still has a great love for the game, and it is great at the age of 35 to see him still performing at the top level with undoubtedly more appearances to come.