Jamaica on the right track reckons Wakefield Trinity flier Ben Jones-Bishop
The 31-year-old was a member of the Jamaica team beaten 38-6 by England Knights last weekend, but reckons the way they played – particularly in the second half – gives the Reggae Warriors something positive to build on.
Jamaica conceded five tries in the opening period and went in at the break 28-0 behind.
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Hide AdBut they dominated the third quarter, scoring a try through former Trinity three-quarter Mason Caton-Brown and only a late England touchdown prevented them ‘winning’ the final 40.
Reflecting on the game – Jamaica’s first since they qualified for the World Cup a year ago – Jones-Bishop said: “It was good. Obviously the first half wasn’t what we wanted, but the second half was a lot better.
“I think generally the more time we spend together, the better we will be.
“We took a little while to get going, but we’d been in camp since Tuesday and we had limited time on the field together.
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Hide Ad“There’s lots of things to work on, but it’s the start of a process, of a journey, over a couple of years.”
Jones-Bishop played for England Knights seven years ago and is one of only a handful of players in the Jamaica squad with Super League experience.
“Obviously it was a big step playing England Knights,” he admitted.
“They are all full-time players and some of our boys aren’t, but it was a good marker to see where we are at.
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Hide Ad“There’s some good things to take away from it and also things we can improve on.
“Being in camp together, the week as a whole was good.
“The next time we meet up we’ll keep building on things and keep improving.”
The spirit in Jamaica’s squad shone through in their second-half performance and Jones-Bishop insisted: “It’s a great group.
“That’s what I found last year, in the qualifiers, which was my first experience of the group.
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Hide Ad“It is different to club rugby, a lot of them are part-time players and the chemistry they have is incredible.
“They welcomed me really well and we have a good time in camp.”
Jones-Bishop’s Super League experience, which includes a Grand Final win with Leeds Rhinos, makes him a key member of the Jamaica set-up.
He said: Ash [Golding] and Michael Lawrence are probably more vocal, but I try and set high standards and help out when I can.
“I think it’s good, we are gelling together and standards are improving.”