‘Competition drives you to be better’: Hannah Jones on friendly rivalries behind Gloucester success

Last year was a big one for Hannah Jones. The talented centre captained Wales to their best Women’s Six Nations performance since 2009, led the team at WXV 1 and helped Gloucester-Hartpury to a first top-flight title.

And it looks as though she has picked up in 2024 exactly where she left off in 2023. Her first three starts of the current Allianz Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) season have all come since 30 December and have yielded three tries and as many victories.

“It was exciting to get back in the Gloucester-Hartpury shirt. Coming back from Wales, it’s been refreshing playing alongside different players,” Jones tells RugbyPass.

“It’s really competitive in training for a shirt, so I really enjoy it there and we work hard.”

Jones’ contributions to those wins against Harlequins, Loughborough Lightning and Trailfinders Women have helped ensure that Gloucester-Hartpury head into this weekend’s top-of-the-table clash with Saracens with 29 points from a possible 30. That leaves them in second, only six points adrift of their resurgent visitors, who have played a game more.

If you are of the opinion that Saturday’s spectacle could have an important impact on the outcome of the PWR season, then you are not alone. England’s complete coaching panel will be at Kingsholm to watch it unfold.

“Saracens is going to be a big test match for us, so we’ll definitely see where we’re at,” Jones adds.

“It’s going to be a physical game and we’re really looking forward to it.”

Gloucester-Hartpury have struggled historically against eight-time league champions Saracens, winning only two of the sides’ 16 meetings. Even last season, Saracens emerged victorious home and away, inflicting their only league defeats of their title-winning campaign.

The difference this time, perhaps, is that Jones and her team-mates will arrive at Kingsholm as champions and with the psychological advantage that that tag can imbue.

Certainly, Gloucester-Hartpury do not appear to have suffered any kind of hangover from their title triumph, a thrilling away victory at Exeter the standout result from their six wins so far.

One reason for that could be, according to Jones, that last season’s achievement was parked before this one began. “Obviously, it gives you a bit of confidence knowing what happened last season,” Jones says. “But it's kind of a fresh season, you've got to start again.

“You know, there's some new players in the mix, keeping that group cohesion going [is important] but it's definitely exciting and, you know, you can't not look back and think, 'oh, we won the league last year'!

“But you've also, you know, got to keep a steady eye on the next game and not look too far ahead.”

She adds: “We’re very proud of what we did last season, like I said, but it was kind of a fresh start. It gives you confidence knowing you can go into a game and as long as you build momentum, you get those wins.

“And what I love at Hartpury is that the girls love it there. So, it's a very nice environment to be in.

“It's very competitive, which I love but it's always a nice place to go back to as well. It's very family orientated and the support the girls give each other is outstanding.

“So, it definitely shows what happens off the field brings you closer on the field.”

As Jones references, one of the primary drivers of the club’s ascent over the past 18 months has been the intense competition for a place in head coach Sean Lynn’s starting XV.

Jones certainly knows she cannot ease up in training when Rachel Lund, Tatyana Heard and Kerin Lake are contending for a place in midfield. An enviable collection of centres even after Sophie Bridger’s departure to this weekend’s opponents last summer.

“Competition drives you to be better, it drives you within training, you know that competitive edge, you've always got to be 100 per cent in every training session,” Jones explains.

“Lynny (Lynn), to be fair to him, he's got a tough job in the week to pick a squad, in all positions really there's good competition across the board.

“There is an edge there, but there's also… a sense of helping each other as well because no matter what squad gets picked on the weekend, we want to win and you've got to put the best people in the best [position] to do it.

“You want to strive and help those people to do well on the weekend as well. So, no matter what your role is, whether you're a starter or you're on the bench or you're not involved at all, you've always got the role to make the squad better.”

Against Loughborough and Trailfinders, Jones started alongside her long-time club and international colleague – and commuting companion – Lake.

The pair first shared the same pitch when Jones made her Wales debut in February 2015 and Lake lined up outside of her when she made her first test start in Dublin a year later.

“Me and Kerin share lifts and we spend many hours in the cars on the way to training, so that connection has definitely grown over the years,” Jones says.

“It’s definitely a really good relationship we have together. We know how to get the best out of each other, which is really good.

“Defensively, I know I'm safe on the inside there with Kerin. She's a brilliant defender, and we're just developing our attack game together now to get into those wide channels.”

Jones and Lake are part of a large contingent of Welsh players who have helped drive Gloucester-Hartpury up the table.

The most recent addition to that group, one of eight Welsh women named in the 23-player squad that beat Trailfinders in Ealing last weekend, is Nel Metcalfe.

The 19-year-old full-back has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past 18 months, making her test debut against the USA last September, just over a year after she had first appeared for Wales U18.

Jones is a fan. “Nel’s brilliant,” she says. “She’s a very skilful player and she's definitely one to look for for the future.

“It's brilliant playing alongside her pace, her knowledge of the game and it's just really exciting that she's just 19 years old coming through the system.

“And there's a brilliant pathway now being built that she can achieve, and you know, she's pro already so it's just I can't wait to see her go.”

Gloucester-Hartpury fans will hope that Metcalfe continues her exciting journey in cherry and white. With a player of the calibre of Jones on hand to guide her, the future for both club and country looks bright.