Rugby Loses Its Most Feared Voice After 42 Years

Stephen Jones never played professional rugby. Yet his retirement as the Sunday Times rugby correspondent earned four and a half pages of tribute. Why? For 42 years, his writing was a powerful force. His direct and unflinching opinions often shocked the sport's leaders. He was as committed to rugby as the toughest players he admired. His departure leaves a major gap. Rugby's administrators now face a question: do they have the same courage to defend the sport's core spirit as Jones did in print for decades?