Not even benched

Jones-Hughes completely out the action

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Posted: Thursday October 21, 1999 06:20 PM

Jones-Hughes sparked a dispute between the two unions when he decided to switch allegiances. AP

CARDIFF, Wales (AP) -- After switching nations in a bid to contest the World Cup, Jason Jones-Hughes has been denied a head-to-head confrontation with his old Australian teammates after being omitted from the Welsh squad for Saturday's quarterfinal.

After making his debut as a replacement in Wales' 23-18 win over Argentina in the World Cup opener and then playing on the wing in the 64-15 win against Japan, the 23-year-old center was relegated to the bench for the 38-31 loss to Samoa.

He was not named in the starting lineup to face Australia when Wales coach Graham Henry announced the team on Monday and was a surprise exclusion when the seven Welsh replacements were named Thursday.

Henry selected Allan Bateman ahead of Jones-Hughes as a replacement to cover the wing and center positions despite concerns over the 34-year-old midfielder's recurring toe injury.

"[Bateman] has passed all the fitness tests we've given him and he tells me he's 100 percent," the former Auckland Blues coach said.

"We needed to have a player on the bench who could play in the center or on the wing. I think [Bateman] is better equipped to play on the wing ... and looked more settled on the wing than Jason."

When asked about Jones-Hughes' reaction to being left off the team, Henry simply said: "He's okay with it."

Welsh selectors named three props -- Ben Evans, Andrew Lewis and Jonathan Humphreys -- plus lock Mike Voyle as forward replacements. David Llewellyn and Stephen Jones join Bateman, who missed the game against Samoa through injury, as replacements in the backline.

Jones-Hughes, who qualifies to play for Wales due to his Welsh-born father, sparked a dispute between the Welsh and Australian Rugby Unions when he decided midyear to switch allegiances.

The ARU argued he was ineligible to play for any other country because he had played for Australia's A team, the Australian Barbarians. But the International Rugby Board intervened and ruled that he was eligible for Wales.

Last week the New South Wales Rugby Union, the Australian-based team Jones-Hughes represented in the southern hemisphere's Super 12 competition, said it intended to force the midfielder to honor his contract with them next season.

 

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