Leicester Tigers can confirm the signing of Megan Jones ahead of the 2023/24 season.
The 26-year-old joins Tigers from Wasps, having also previously represented Bristol Bears in the Premier 15s.
Although she was born in Wales (and is a fluent Welsh speaker), Jones qualified for both Wales and England due to her having a Welsh father and English mother: she chose to represent the Red Roses and currently has 12 caps for England. Her highlights on the international stage include scoring in the 2017 World Cup semi-final win over France, a tournament in which she also scored England’s first try of the tournament in the first minute of their opening match against Spain and started the final, against the Black Ferns of New Zealand.
Jones began her career at Glamorgan Wanderers, joining the club at age 6, before continuing her rugby pathway alongside her education, moving first to Hartbury College before venturing to the East-Midlands to study at Loughborough University.
Although she has shown versatility in the backline, often starring at centre, her primary position is fly-half. When asked about how she would describe her game in the 10 jersey, Jones replied ‘I’m quite an instinctive player and love playing a running game close to the line. The contact aspect of the game is somewhere I thrive in which is probably not your typical fly-half response!’
Over the last number of years, the England international has performed not only in the 15-a-side game but also across the Sevens circuit, including times where she has swapped the Red Rose for the Lion of Great Britain, whom she has represented at the Olympic games.
Her storied Sevens career includes a Bronze Medal representing England at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and Olympic trips to both Rio De Janeiro in 2016 and Tokyo in 2021; although she travelled as a non-playing reserve in 2016, she entered the 2021 Tokyo games as co-captain of the team. Team GB finished fourth in 2021, with Jones scoring both tries in the 21-12 Bronze Medal loss to Fiji. Across the World Rugby Sevens Series, the Olympian has played 112 Matches and recorded 258 points, a total that includes 20 tries.
This week, Jones travels to Toulouse as co-captain of the squad for the final leg of the World Series. When asked about making the transition between Sevens and full fifteen-a-side rugby, Jones responded that ‘There’s definitely a lot of crossover from the two codes with regards to skill set. The biggest difference between the two is probably the close quarter contact area but that’s an area I enjoy’.
Speaking about the signing of Jones, Leicester Tigers Head of Women’s Rugby Vicky Macqueen said: “We are really looking forward to Megan joining the group ahead of next season. She is an experienced international who has consistently shown that she thrives on the biggest stages, both across the Sevens and Fifteens game. She offers both a cool head and spark of electricity to the backs and her versatility across the backline will be imperative ahead of our move into the Premier 15s. She is highly respected within the game and we believe she will add great value to the group, both as a personality and through her wealth of knowledge in rugby”.
Having met her new teammates over the last couple of weeks, Jones added “Everyone I’ve met so far have made me feel right at home and I cannot wait to get stuck in next season. I’m excited to see where this team can go in one of the best leagues in the world.”
