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WARRINGTON, England - Stacey Jones' final farewell from rugby league proved an emotional affair as the All Golds beat Northern Union 25-18 in a commemorative match on Sunday.
The match always promised to be a poignant occasion and so it proved as today's players paid tribute to the 1907 All Golds to celebrate 100 years of international league.
Yet the most moving moment of the evening came as the sport farewelled Kiwis great Jones, who has retired for the last time.
The legendary halfback formally retired from international league following last year's Tri-Nations final loss to Australia along with Ruben Wiki and Nigel Vagana.
But the former Kiwis all agreed to pull on the black jersey one last time for the All Golds.
While Wiki and Vagana are still playing at club level in the National Rugby League, this was the last game of Jones' glorious career after completing a two-year spell with Catalans Dragons.
The 31-year-old, who played 46 tests and spent 10 years with the New Zealand Warriors before moving to France, kicked all five of his conversions and produced a vintage pass for Clinton Toopi to score at the death and seal their team's victory.
After the game, Jones waved goodbye to his boots after laying them down on the turf, and as he made his way back to his teammates they performed a haka in his honour.
"The whole week has been really enjoyable and it was emotional when the boys did the haka," Jones said.
"I didn't expect anything like that.
"I just thought we'd come here and play the game, so something like that is real special and I'll remember it for the rest of my life.
"I had a fantastic time at the Warriors and had a good sendoff there, and then a couple of months ago I had another in France.
"But I didn't expect any of that, it was fantastic, and to be able to do it in a game like this when we're celebrating what the players did for us 100 years ago was great.
"To learn about what did is mind blowing and that's why we're playing the game today; because of those blokes all those years ago."
Jones' boots were later carried off by a Royal Air Force officer while the All Golds, the current Kiwis squad and the Northern Union players gave him a guard of honour as he left the field.
Even the local fans showed their admiration for `The Little General', chanting "Stacey Jones, is a legend, is a legend".
Wiki, who made many of his world record 55 test appearances alongside Jones, echoed those sentiments, claiming he Jones was irreplaceable.
"David Kidwell said we should do the haka for me, Stacey and Nigel, but that one was for Stacey," Wiki said.
"He's done so much for league and he's going to be sorely missed. I love the dude.
"He's a good friend and he plays the game with a lot of heart and passion. No one can replace Stacey Jones."
But there was no forgetting the main purpose of the event, to commemorate the 1907 All Golds, the first team to embark on an international league tour.
Organised by Albert Baskerville, the tour lasted nine months with 35 of the 49 matches played in Britain under Northern Union rules, with Baskerville dying in Brisbane before the team returned to New Zealand.
"The game was very fitting," Wiki said.
"I think Albert Baskerville and all the merry men that came over in 1907 would have been very happy.
"What they went through back in 1907, we took a lot of that into the game, and we knew that the Northern Union would come out firing but `The General' got us through, Stacey Jones."
Ali Lauitiiti claimed two tries before Greg Eastwood's score secured a 15-5 halftime lead for the All Golds, who shrugged off a British fightback with late tries by Louis Anderson and Toopi.
- NZPA
