Danny Jones signs for Hornets

Danny Jones, Ian Talbot

Hornets head coach Ian Talbot finally got his man this week after Rochdale Hornets signed 22 year old forward Danny Jones after he was released by Barrow Raiders.

Jones, who has played over 50 games for Barrow in a two and a half year stint, is a former St Helen's junior who turned down a full time contract at St Helen's following a stint in the youth and academy teams in order to play regular first grade rugby.

Ian Talbot is a long term admirer of the hardworking forward and made no secret that he tried to sign Jones in the off season before he chose to stay loyal to the Raiders.

A change in personal circumstances for Jones meant he was finding the commute to Barrow three times a week a difficult and after securing a release from the Barrow club there was only one place he was heading and that was Hornets.

“Danny's partner is expecting so he needs to find himself a full time job closer to home and traveling to Barrow three times a week was tough for him.

“I spoke to him in the off season and at that point he took up another year at Barrow and I understood his reasons why.

“I was a bit gutted as what you get with Danny is a hardworking, honest middle man who will do the hard yards and big tackle numbers in defense.

“He is quality will give us a big boost for the run in and with the loss of the likes of Sam Brooks, Richard Beaumont, Tony Suffolk and Anthony Walker for the rest of the season he will add some depth to our pack options' commented head coach Ian Talbot, who took time out from his day job with the Saints Foundation to meet his new signing.

“I’m looking forward to a new challenge' added Jones.

“I’ve really enjoyed my time at Barrow and it has been an experience working with Muzz (Anthony Murray), Bobbie (Goulding) and Cresta (Paul Crarey).

“When I came to the end of my contract at Saints I just wanted to get some senior rugby under my belt and develop as a player and Barrow helped me do that.

“At the moment though things in my life are changing and I wanted to be closer to home and get myself sorted away from rugby.

“Rochdale was the obvious choice as Tol (Ian Talbot) has worked with me before at Saints and I came through the age groups with Jordan Case and I know James Dandy from my time at Barrow so I know il feel comfortable.

“I’d like to thank everyone at Barrow for understanding and agreeing to a release and I'm just looking forward to getting my head down and enjoying my rugby."