The kitchen in his Bristol home is a fitting place for Lloyd Jones to tell his late father’s story.
Peter Jones – a former Neath and Llanelli back-row forward – passed away in March last year after a long battle with dementia. A post-mortem revealed he died with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) – a progressive brain condition caused by repeated blows to the head.
Peter is the first British ex-rugby player known to have died with CTE. He spent his career in Welsh rugby’s amateur era and was a carpenter by trade. He passed those skills to his son.
Lloyd Jones (above) and his family have joined rugby’s legal fight on concussion
Lloyd has used them to good effect. He built his whole kitchen, including the table, and most of his house’s woodwork items. He also works for a software development company.
‘My dad was my best mate. We’d play golf and squash together and he’d teach me carpentry,’ Lloyd told Sportsmail. ‘It was obviously upsetting when he died but finding out he had CTE was more upsetting. Most of his mind and soul had already gone before he died.
‘CTE stole his brain and his personality and stole him from us. To try and cope, I’ve thought to myself that maybe now my dad is dead, his mind and soul are back together again.
‘Hopefully, that’s the case. I’m obviously not glad he’s dead, but maybe it was for the best.’
A hard, abrasive flanker, Peter began to show early signs of dementia aged 58. He was diagnosed with the disease in 2010 at 60. It was the start of a long battle with illness, one he fought bravely.
Lloyd Jones pictured on a day out with his mother Beverley and father Peter
In September 2020, Peter’s wife Beverley and Lloyd made the tough decision to move him into a home – a year after he underwent a hip operation. When his hip became infected, Peter was forced into a Carmarthen hospital where he contracted Covid-19. Tragically, Peter could fight no longer.
Prior to his father’s death, Lloyd had seen former players Steve Thompson and Alix Popham reveal they had been diagnosed with early onset dementia and probable CTE.
The pair, as well as more than 150 others, have joined a landmark legal case against World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union for alleged failure to protect them from the risks caused by concussion.
‘When I saw all the news on CTE, I thought that could be the case with my dad. It made sense,’ Lloyd said.
‘I wondered why he had early onset dementia. It could have been bad luck, but he also had an intense rugby career. To get the brain scan done on my dad after he died was hard work because of Covid. A lot of surgeons in south Wales didn’t want to do another post-mortem.
Lloyd Jones talks to Sportsmail’s Alex Bywater in the kitchen at his home in Bristol
‘They didn’t understand why we wanted to do it and made it so hard for us. Professor Willie Stewart contacted us saying he’d love to examine my dad’s brain. He was almost like a saviour.
‘We wanted to have peace of mind and if it was CTE, then we could try and raise awareness about it.’
Professor Stewart’s post-mortem analysis revealed Peter died with CTE.
The Jones family have medical proof to show the condition was caused by repeated blows to the head suffered in Peter’s rugby career.
‘You can’t get CTE from a car crash or one big incident like that. It’s from repetitive and continuous head blows as well as sub-concussions and concussions,’ Lloyd said.
‘They’ve said it’s directly linked to rugby.’
Peter Jones passed away in March last year after a long battle with dementia
Peter’s rugby career began in the 1970’s. The game was very different then to the professional beast it is today and Peter was at the heart of it as a tough-tackling, fit-as-a-flea flanker.
He never played for Wales, but had a solid club stint before retiring at 39 when he put all his focus on his thriving carpentry business. One day, after he, Lloyd and a colleague had returned from working in France, Peter took to the wheel to drive back to Wales.
With his passengers asleep, Peter got so lost he ended up in central London.
He had forgotten the way home despite his encyclopaedic knowledge of the roads.
It was the first sign of dementia.
‘It took two years to get diagnosed. My dad wasn’t able to drive after a while and that was definitely his job gone then,’ said Lloyd. ‘He had to retire early and so did my mother.
Peter Jones played for Neath and Llanelli as a back-row forward before retiring aged 39
‘We built an extension to the house so we could care for my dad. Everyday tasks became difficult and he’d become very OCD like turning plugs off and washing his hands.
‘He was quiet, a totally different person, and couldn’t function on his own. My mum had to help him with the simplest of tasks like dressing and brushing his teeth. She also put his socks on for him.
‘In the later stages he became incontinent and totally unable to hold a conversation. He was totally gone, but never aggressive and always easy to care for.
‘It was tough when he left the house and had to go into the home. It wasn’t as if he’d died then, but it was a big change. Luckily, we were by his side at the end.
‘I’ve had counselling and taken some antidepressants more recently to help me to cope with it when previously, I was just trying to get on with it. Talking about this now is helping.’
A hard, abrasive flanker, Peter Jones began to show early signs of dementia aged 58
The Jones family have now joined rugby’s legal fight on concussion and Lloyd watched this year’s Six Nations with interest.
England pair Jack Nowell and Kyle Sinckler, Wales prop Tomas Francis and Ireland’s James Ryan all took nasty head knocks in the Championship. Sinckler and Francis were soon back in action although a Six Nations investigation has found the latter should never have returned to the field against England.
Lloyd is speaking to Sportsmail to try and help ensure the next generation of rugby players do not go through the same experiences his father did.
‘The game of rugby is great and I love it too,’ said Lloyd, who played for Wales in the Dubai Sevens at Under-19 level. ‘I’m not saying not to play the game, but knowledge is power and you don’t want it to ruin your life. Knowing how head injuries can affect you in the long term is really important.
‘With some of the incidents that have gone on recently, I think they’re just isolating the situation.
‘It’s almost like they say if a player is OK from one concussion, he can play the next week. That’s not the point. It’s the adding up of all those concussions which is what’s dangerous. I think it’s a bit shocking really and the players are being let down. Rugby needs to address this and put its hands up.
‘This has been an issue for years. If I was a professional, I’d probably be s******* myself and thinking I need to find another job. It’s pretty scary to be honest. To think this has been around for years and years and almost been pushed to the side is a bit of a joke.
‘Rugby is everything for Welsh people and as much as my dad loved the game, I definitely think if he knew what was going to happen to him because of rugby, he’d have chosen a different path.
‘Rugby did give him a lot, but it probably took more away.’
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