By Dale Budge
I must have been about seven or eight when I first came across the incomparable Phil Kingsley Jones.
He was working as the Rugby Development Officer for Counties Manukau Rugby while I was youngster playing New Image (the two-handed touch on the hips version of rugby from that era) rugby for my Pukekohe club side in the U8s or U9s.
He was a funny looking man with a weird Welsh accent and the sort of person that kids of that age would not remember the next day normally. He was there at training of course to help build our passion for the sport.
That he most certainly did.
You see there was nothing normal about Phil. He was a born entertainer and those kids sat listening to him in deathly silence as he captured our imagination with his stories, his jokes and his ability to connect with people.
He told a joke that has stayed with me ever since. I’m not really sure why.
It went like this…
“Snow White was walking through the forest and approaching the little cottage where she lived with the Seven Dwarfs. As she drew near the cottage, she could smell smoke and started to see flames billowing from the windows.
“Upon realising the cottage was on fire her thoughts quickly turned to the Dwarfs as she worried about their safety.
“Then suddenly, from deep in the forest behind her, she hears this weird chanting. As she stopped and listened, she made out the words. ‘Wales will win the World Cup; Wales will win the World Cup’ and she breathed a sigh of relief and said: ‘Well thank God Dopey’s ok.”
With Phil’s Welsh accent and his ability to tell the joke just perfectly hit the spot and had the parents and kids in hysterics.
Over the years Phil served as a coach, manager, agent, commercial manager, MC, entertainer, administrator, tour leader and just about everything in between. He has lived and breathed Counties Manukau Rugby for the past three decades and the Union owes him a great deal of gratitude for that service. He has been there when the Union has been at its lowest ebb and helped it achieve its greatest triumphs.
And then there was Jonah.
Whatever your view on that relationship and how it ultimately ended, one thing cannot be denied. It was a partnership for the ages. Without that relationship there is no question that we wouldn’t have witnessed the greatest rugby player in Counties Manukau history nor would the world of rugby been impacted the way it did when the legendary All Black winger catapulted rugby into the professional era.
It was a match made in heaven and, without choosing sides, it was incredibly sad when it came to an end.
But that shouldn’t be the thing that Phil is remembered for. Yes, that relationship with Jonah played a big part in his life but there was much more to the man than acting as manager for a great player.
Phil deserves to be recognised for the all-round contribution he made to Counties Manukau and rugby in general.
Over 30 years since I came across him, I still remember the passion he had for the sport and for the region and that flowed from him into me and my teammates.
That’s the greatest accolade I think you can give someone – when they leave such a lasting impression on someone.
Rest easy Phil.
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