He was part of the North Auckland side under Johnny Smith's captaincy, which beat South Canterbury in Timaru to win the Ranfurly Shield in 1950.

He was worshipped in Northland for his unusual personality and refusal to accept advice to move to the big smoke, Auckland, to advance his career.

Jones was listed at 210 pounds (95 kg) and 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) when he made his debut in Bob Stuart's 1953–54 All Black side that toured Britain and France.

Like Barry John, taken out 15 minutes into the 1968 Lions v SA first test by Springbok lock, Frik De Preeze or the simultaneous hit on Chris Laidlaw in first test qt Pretoria in 1970, when a hard low tackle by Du Preeze was combined with a simultaneous hard blow, by flanker Abbie Bates (photo in P. Verdon.

With an impressive physique that averaged about 238 pounds (108 kg) in the second half of his career, Jones was also blessed with the speed of a sprinter.