ONCE on BBC show, A Question Of Sport, Sue Barker asked which person had represented Wales in three different sports?
The answer was Jonathan Griffiths, who had played rugby, rugby league and cricket for his home country.
If he had not grown up on the Isle of Wight it might never have happened.
Both Sandown and Shanklin Rugby Club and Shanklin Cricket Club must be so proud of his success.
The night before I met Jonathan for the first time, back in 1987, I was sat in the lounge of a Cardiff hotel and was fascinated by a conversation coming from the bar area.
I discreetly put down my book when I heard the name of Jonathan Griffiths come up in conversation.
Several guys were talking about the Llanelli rugby star, who was already in the Wales international squad.
Would he challenge Robert Jones for the scrum half position? I couldn’t wait to tell him this when we met up the following night at his Carmarthen home.
The late Sandown High School teacher, Trevor Wray, must take all the credit for Jonathan playing scrum half for Wales, being in a World Cup squad and eventually becoming a rugby league star with St Helens.
Back in the 1970s, Jonathan was then a soccer player for Newport Youth.
He began to play rugby at Sandown High and was told by Trevor: “You’re a scrum half, son.”
He had little chance of staying with football.
Two of Trevor’s teaching colleagues, Gus Baker and John Endacott, also played for the nearby Hurricanes.
Soon Jonathan was their budding starlet.
At barely the age of 14, in their second XV, he had three minders in the shape of John Gilfillan, Ron Thom and Colin Bond.
They looked after him, as did the first XV, when he soon played for them.
Amazingly, less than ten years later, he scored the only try in Llanelli’s epic 1985 Welsh Cup final victory over Cardiff, in front of 40,000 in the National Stadium.
What about his first-ever local derby for the Hurricanes against the Isle of Wight RFC?
“I think all the Island’s pack rucked all over me. They were great, competitive games,” said Jonathan.
He moved back to Wales and had to prove himself in youth rugby to earn a pedigree to make his way up through the grades.
While playing for Carmarthen Quins, he was capped for Wales Youth and was then spotted by Welsh giants, Llanelli.
His career took off from the moment he signed for them and he went on to play nearly 200 games.
During his career with the club, he played for Wales B and eventually won his first full Welsh cap against the All Blacks in New Zealand.
“We had a young side against the All Blacks and it was so tough, but a great experience,” he adds.
“Luckily, my father was able to fly out in time to see me play, which was wonderful.”
He came back to play in the Five Nations and was in their national squad for several years, making the bench on 30 occasions.
He did win caps, but is was hard to become a regular with the likes of Robert Jones, the resident scrum half in the Welsh side, and injury problems.
In a 1998 with me, he said: “Robert was one of the best passers, but I was never impressed with his all-round game.
“So many told me I should have played more times for Wales.
“It wasn’t easy because his father-in-law was the chairman of selectors!”
In the end, Jonathan became somewhat disheartened and decided to follow the legendary Welshman, Jonathan Davies, into the world of rugby league.
St Helens came in for him and he became a full-time professional, having tried to tempt him several times before.
Prior to that, Jonathan had also been a fireman while playing for Llanelli.
The Saints trebled his wages to play pro rugby league for them as a scrum half and stand-off.
One of his greatest moments in nearly 150 appearances for the club was being carried off the field at Wigan in front of 32,000 people.
It was in 1991 and he scored the two semi-final tries against the favourites, Widnes, that took them to Wembley in the Challenge Cup Final.
Jonathan Davies was actually in that losing Widnes team.
Following his move into rugby league, Jonathan played for Great Britain, won several caps for Wales and scored 39 tries for the Saints.
After he retired from pro rugby league, he moved back to Wales and finally played for his hometown club, Haverfordwest, in the Welsh fourth division.
He also returned to the life of a full-time firefighter.
Jonathan’s success in both forms of rugby tended to overshadow his cricket talents as a hard-hitting batsman, which began with Shanklin at Westhill.
In the late 1980s, he was the club professional at Llanelli Cricket Club, who played in the South Wales first division.
There he achieved his best-ever score of 177. He also scored three 150s in a single season.
Their previous professionals had included county cricketers Winston Davis and Steve Barwick.
He did also play cricket for Wales, which gave him that rare distinction of competing in three different sports for his country.
During his successful rugby career, in both forms of the game, he did find it hard to get used to being recognised in the street.
Obviously, this first happened in Wales, where they are so passionate about the game.
It also happened in Shanklin last summer, when he came back home to play in the memorial game to celebrate the life of Dave Porter.
Mind you, he did look just a wee bit older than when he initially played for the club, as a 16 year old.
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