Six Nations: Jones the kick toes Henry's party line

Stephen Jones was not quite sure who would be entrusted with the goalkicking for Wales against Ireland at Lansdowne Road today. "It's up to the coach," he said. "Whoever he chooses is fine by me." Iestyn Harris has been Graham Henry's marksman of late but unless Henry has been living the life of a troglodyte in the last month he has no choice to make. In hitting goals in regulation, Jones is up there with Tiger Woods.

The Llanelli stand-off kicked eight penalties out of eight in the 24-12 watershed victory over Leicester at Stradey Park in the Heineken Cup and repeated the feat in the 27-10 quarter-final triumph against Bath last Sunday. He also added a drop goal and passed 100 points to became the top scorer in Europe this season.

Taking into account a conversion against Perpignan, Jones has succeeded with his last 17 place-kicks, a statistic that is all the more extraordinary considering they have been kicked from all sorts of angles and distances and in a variety of conditions, predominantly strong winds and heavy going. No, he admitted, he has never had a sequence like this.

Jones has changed his technique, using a lower tee with the ball further forward. "It came about through trial and error. The ball doesn't move around in the air so much, with the result that I've got a little bit more accuracy, although I don't hit them as far as I used to."

After kicking Bath into submission, no sooner had Jones walked into the dressing room than he took a call on his mobile. Neil Jenkins, who had been watching on television, wanted to congratulate his successor. "That was typical," Jones said of the world record points-scorer. "Neil has been a big mate and has been outstanding as a player and a person. He has gone out of his way to help me, not only with my kicking but with a kind word here and there. He can't do enough for you. I was in awe of him at first but he's such a genuine guy."

Robert Howley, who is about to become Wales's most capped scrum-half, was reeling off the outside-halves he had partnered for his country. "There was Jonathan Davies, Arwel Thomas, Jenks, of course, and Iestyn Harris. All slightly different but all quality players." It was pointed out to him that he'd forgotten to mention Jones. "And Stephen. How could I forget him? You should have seen the smile on his face when he turned up for training on Monday. When he came into the squad he spent a lot of time with Jenks and I think that's where he's got his professional attitude from."

Jones has relieved Harris, the league convert who is still coming to terms with union, of the No 10 jersey, although in the last 20 minutes against Australia in the autumn they swapped roles. Both toe the party line with the cliché that they would play anywhere for Wales, but both regard the pivot role as their natural position. In the Dragonhood dynasty, the stand-off is king.

Jones, born in Aberystwyth but schooled in Carmarthen, is from the West Wales stamping ground of Barry John, Phil Bennett and Jonathan and Gareth Davies. If Jones, and Jenkins, suffer by comparison it is because they do not possess the majestic skills of pace, sidestep and all-round urchin cheek. It would still be harsh to describe them as journeymen.

Part of the problem is that they don't look like kings. Jones's nickname is the Count, as in Dracula, a moniker picked up on a nightmare trip to South Africa in 1998. The South Wales Borderers at Rorke's Drift had a much better experience. Jones, then 19, joined the tour as a replacement and his ghostly complexion beneath jet-black hair would have been rounded off nicely with a pair of fangs. The stake to the heart came in the Test in Pretoria where Wales were beaten 96-11, Jones coming on for his first cap at full-back with 25 minutes to go. "It was an amazing day," he said. "The huge thrill of winning my first cap coincided with the disgrace of conceding nearly 100 points. It makes an impression. We were told to remember it and to make sure it never happens again." It was after the massacre that Henry was recruited.

There have since been transfusions and bloodletting, notably the 15-44 rout by England in Cardiff 12 months ago when Jones was again the last line of defence (what defence?) and was beaten one on one by Matt Dawson when the scrum-half ghosted in at the posts. There was also Wales's last match in the Six Nations, a 6-36 defeat to Ireland in October.

"It's not a very nice feeling being booed off the Millennium Stadium," Jones recalls. "It was a particularly poor performance and Ireland did exceptionally well." In echoes of Pretoria, Jones added: "We don't want to experience that again. We'll use it as motivation."

Today Jones, 24, wins his 16th cap. He is in his rightful position and is more confident than he's ever been. Craig Morgan makes his debut on the wing and Jamie Robinson partners Harris at centre. "There's a lot of pace there and Iestyn helps to take the pressure off in decision- making," Jones said. "I realise the huge responsibility that goes with the No 10 jersey but I don't think it adds to the task. I have to set my own standards. Beating Leicester, the best team in Europe, and Bath was a great feeling. The Heineken Cup is an excellent stepping stone, and I think it's made me tougher mentally. I'm also so glad to be playing with Scott Quinnell. I'd hate to be playing against him."

Jones, who will be up against not only David Humphreys in Dublin but also his clubmate Simon Easterby, is in his sixth season with Llanelli after captaining Wales Schools Under-18s. The son of a headmaster, he was presented with a dilemma when the game went professional. "I could join the Scarlets full time or go to Loughborough to study sports science. It was a huge decision, especially in Wales, where there was a lot of uncertainty. The club encourages players to get a full education and they pointed out that I would have a lot of spare time. All my mates were leaving the area and it wasn't until the last minute that I decided to sign. I think it's paid off."

Jones considers himself fortunate to have had the converted Englishman Rupert Moon as his scrum-half. "What a guy to learn from. His approach and enthusiasm were brilliant. He had the right temperament and away from the hurly-burly was very entertaining company. If you could get a few words in you were doing well." Moon, a Midlander, went on to captain the Scarlets and set about learning Welsh. It is Jones's first language and there are half-a-dozen Welsh speakers in the national side, including the Llanelli hooker, Robin McBryde. Henry's ambition was to learn the Welsh national anthem – he didn't want to do a John Redwood – and the New Zealander has also picked up a few words, as Ireland will discover today.

Some of the calls between Scott Quinnell, McBryde and Jones will be in Welsh. There's ymlaen, for example, an instruction for the pack to go forwards. Jones is not considering the word for backwards. He would rather remember Rorke's Drift than Pretoria.