RUGBY League convert Josh Jones is hoping to use a run of games at Taunton Titans to bring himself up to speed with the 15-man code.

The 22-year-old – who made his Titans debut during Saturday’s 25-23 win at Chinnor (see page 111) – has swapped a flourishing career with Super League giants St Helens for a career in union with Exeter Chiefs.

Jones started at inside centre for the Titans on Saturday and his performance pleased head coach Tony Yapp, who said Jones had ‘a good game’ and ‘looked like adding to an already competitive squad’ – and the Leyland-born player is aiming to make the most of his spell at Hyde Park.

He said: “The centre position is quite similar to rugby league so that should help.

“I played quite a bit at school so the transition has been good.

“I’ll have a few games with Taunton and then if I am good enough to play with the Chiefs then so be it.

Jones – a keen union fan – said his decision to switch codes came about after watching the Chiefs play on television.

“I just wanted a change - I had been at Saints for 10 years and I watch rugby union religiously anyway,” he said.

“I was watching a game with the Chiefs in it and I really liked the way they played.

“It was very running-orientated and they didn’t kick the ball that often.

“They like to keep the ball in play and worked the ball through their hands to get their outside backs in the game.”

Exeter Chiefs head coach, Rob Baxter said: “He is a strong runner and if he can beat the first tackle and get some momentum in has carry then he can usually break one or two more.”

“Josh played union throughout school so it is not like it has been a long time since he played it - therefore we are hoping the switch-over back to union won’t be too big a deal for him.

“We are looking at different types of players having different abilities in our team.

“He has played an awful lot of first class rugby for St Helens.

“He played in the final they won last year and played in last Friday’s win over Wigan. He has played a lot of high-level rugby league.

“We are aware that the switch-over from league to union isn’t going to be straightforward.

“He will have to work very hard, but because of his personal pride and ambition we saw in the meeting, we know he will work hard.

“Josh has taken a chance moving to union because he has a well-established league career - he knows there will be a bit of transition time and he’ll probably have a period on loan somewhere, but he is very open to those ideas.”

“One we had met, the whole thing seemed to be very straightforward for us."