Q: In the back row, how do you balance physicality at the breakdown with staying disciplined and avoiding penalties?

Chase Jones: Urgency to the breakdown is crucial when you’re in the back row.  I  just do my best to keep my feet. Sometimes, I am too eager to go over, which has caused me to get penalties, so I do whatever I can to avoid penalizing the team because that has cost us this year. 

Q: You started playing rugby as a freshman in high school—what initially drew you to the sport?

Chase Jones: It’s a funny story. I got cut from the freshman basketball team, so I told my mom that rugby was like soccer because I used to play goalie. I then went out for rugby, and she signed the form so I could play. When she came a year later, it was too late. I was head over heels in love with rugby, and then I got my whole family into it, including my brother. 

Q: Your rugby path took you from fullback to scrum half to lock, and now you play back row—how did you adapt to each position change, and what did you learn from the transition? 

Chase Jones: Yeah, great question. Fullback was because I didn’t know what I was doing. It was just to get me out there. I was short, well not short, but I was 5’10 and 165 pounds soaking wet. I was very different regarding body profile, but I was fast, so I would run around, eager to play with the ball, and I loved to kick because I was a goalie in soccer. I went from there to scrum half because I had a good pass. No one else in my sophomore team, the JV team, could pass, so I was quick to the ball and always pushed the tempo. Then I grew a little bit, and then I grew a lot. I started playing most of the time from there on out, and I just loved the physicality. At that point, I learned how to tackle properly, and I loved to throw my body around. Now, as a back row, I still find myself locking a lot because I’m a tall back row but a short lock, so I just can get down in that scrum drive hard, and then in the line out it’s the same thing. Whether you’re back row or a lock, just be ready to lift and jump, and know the place. All the position changes make me feel like I know the game pretty well, too. If I get stuck out on the edge, I can just be like, I know where the wings are and what they must do.

Q: What did you learn about yourself during those 22 months off the pitch due to injury?

Chase Jones: I learned more about my support system than ever. I have a huge support system. I have great people who back me and will do anything for me, so I lean heavily on people who care a lot about me and have learned how much they care. I’m going to be honest, 22 months of injury, 17 months on a knee scooter, going from an elite athlete to severely disabled for essentially 22 months was pretty mentally devastating, so just sticking close to the people who are close to me was huge. 

Q: Who in your rugby journey has had the most significant impact on your development?

Chase Jones: My dad because he’s put me in positions to play rugby wherever I wanted to go. I’ve been able to go to all American tours and training camps because he’s supported me financially and pushed me to go to places like St. Mary’s. I almost went to Western Washington University, and my dad told me I needed to go to St. Mary’s. He just told me what the right decision was and supported me financially for that decision, which has been a huge lift, and I’m incredibly grateful for the support. 

Q: After everything you’ve been through with your injury and recovery, what does it mean to you to finally be able to step back on the pitch and compete this season?

Chase Jones: It means everything to me. I get to be with the boys I said I would play with one day, and be just like them. I get to back up my word, show them that I am a man of my word, and stay disciplined. Now, when I go play rugby, it’s the most fun thing ever, and I know how much of a privilege it is to be out there. 

Q: You work as a preschool teacher in the off-season. Does that help you in any way with rugby?

Chase Jones: In the off-season, I teach young kids. I just taught kindergarten at St. Thérèse Academy this past off-season, so it’s helped me engage with people from any background, regardless of their English capability. In rugby, you get thrown into crazy situations where people come from diverse backgrounds. If you guys can find that common connection, which is rugby, and then develop a relationship from there, it makes you much better as a teammate. So getting close to my teammates because of my ability to work with people from all backgrounds, regardless of their communication skills, is probably the weirdest way, but the only way it connects. 

Q: What does being a home-grown rugby player mean, especially with the Rugby World Cup coming to our country in 2031? 

Chase Jones: It’s a unique opportunity. Growing up, I did not think I could play professional rugby. It was always a dream to play professional sports growing up, you know, as a kid, you’re like, I want to be a professional football player or a basketball player. Once I found rugby, I talked to my coach. I asked, “What do I need to do to be a professional rugby player?” They said you probably have to go overseas for the end of your high school career and learn from them because, at that point, there was nothing in the U.S. There was only pro rugby, which quickly deflated and became nothing. And then the MLR popped up, and I just kept grinding and set my sights on that and proved to myself that I can be a professional athlete in the U.S. Shout out to the MLR for holding itself together and being so successful, even though it’s a hard thing to start up a league. Overall, the opportunity here with rugby and the U.S. hosting the World Cup in 2031 is really cool. Very exciting because like I said, I didn’t think this was gonna be a thing in my future, and now it looks like the future is brighter than ever. Rugby is ever-growing; to be a part of its growing influence, especially on kids and the next generations, is insane. Hopefully, I will be a part of that Eagle squad coming up. Maybe this year, or maybe next year, or during the World Cup, it’s the goal, it’s very inspiring, and makes me feel like the world is open to me 

Q: You’ve been a part of NOLA Gold since 2022. In what ways has the team evolved the most? 

Chase Jones: The boys just get along really well. We’ve always done that, though there’s been a difference this year with the French influence on the team, so it’s just learning how to change and adapt to that. Overall, the boys have stuck together well. We’re all good friends, so that’s the strongest aspect of NOLA Gold. We embrace the city and its uniqueness, and then we embrace each other in our uniqueness and go and have a good time. 

Q: How do you stay motivated after a tough match?

Chase Jones: I just know that this is the best job in the world and I have greater aspirations than to sit on my butt and not do anything but moan. You get nothing out of whining and moaning. Losing is the best teacher. You don’t learn a lot from winning all the time. You have to go out and get it, and so that’s what pushes me. I know that no matter what, win or lose, I need to do my best to prove that I’m a good rugby player to the nation, to myself, to my peers, to my coaches, and most importantly, to my teammates. Give 110% effort every time because you don’t want to be that guy who lets the person next to you down, and hopefully, they’re not gonna be that guy letting you down either, so that’s what keeps me motivated.