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Chasing greatness through grief - England's warrior queen
![](/<p><strong>Women's Rugby World Cup final: England v Canada</strong></p><p><strong>Venue: </strong>Allianz Stadium, Twickenham<strong> Date:</strong> Saturday 27 September<strong> Kick-off: </strong>16:00 BST</p><p><strong>Coverage</strong>: Live on BBC One, BBC Radio 5 Live and the BBC Sport website and app</p><p><strong>Meg Jones' speed, strength, industry and uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time have made her arguably the best player at this World Cup.</strong></p><p>For a period, during the early part of Covid lockdown, they also made her one of Amazon's best delivery drivers.</p><p>That and her bladder control.</p><p>"I was really good, so good," <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0m0h2db?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Blink%5D-%5Bsport%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D">the England centre told her Barely Rugby podcast.</a></p><p>"I was super fast. They wanted to do like a documentary on me.</p><p>"But yeah, toilet breaks are not really a thing. You're in at 5am and then you probably leave about 4pm without having to wee."</p><p>While she was delivering door to door in her hi-viz vest, Jones, then 23, had already been to a Rugby World Cup final.</p><p>She had started the 2017 defeat by New Zealand at outside centre. A year before that, she had travelled to the Olympics as teenager, filling in as a non-playing reserve for the Great Britain team that finished fourth.</p><p>But as the pandemic bit and her Sevens contract was frozen, she thought her rugby career might be over</p><p>"It was scary," says Jones.</p><p>"I'd never had another job in your life and suddenly my livelihood had gone.</p><p>"I just thought I was going to be an Amazon delivery driver for the rest of my life."</p><p>Online retail's gain would have been English rugby's grievous loss.</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0m0h2db?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Blink%5D-%5Bsport%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D">Barely Rugby: Van life, dogs & colouring by numbers</a></li><li><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0l0sh9b?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Blink%5D-%5Bsport%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D">Rugby Union Weekly: Meg Jones on grief and chasing greatness</a></li><li><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/c77dz4g86lgo?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Blink%5D-%5Bsport%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D">Jones nominated for World Rugby player of the year</a></li></ul><p>Jones was a prodigious talent. Born in Cardiff, she was taken to Glamorgan Wanderers by her father Simon when she was six.</p><p>Aged 11, she was part of a Cardiff Schoolboys side <a href="https://www.cardiffrugby.wales/news/cardiff-under-11s-clinch-dc-thomas-cup/">who beat Bridgend in the final of the DC Thomas Cup at the Principality Stadium.</a></p><p>Playing a year up for Cardiff Blues under-15 girls team, her quality still stood out.</p><p>"Her ball playing was probably only eclipsed by her kicking display," <a href="https://community.wru.wales/2010/11/16/blues-u15s-overwhelm-dragons/">purred a report from the time.</a></p><p>England World Cup winner Danielle Waterman watched one of her matches and was similarly impressed.</p><p>"I remember her running around in a pink scrum hat and thinking, she's one of the most talented under-18 players I've ever seen," she said.</p><p>Waterman was watching because, despite her Welsh upbringing, Welsh father and fluency in Welsh, Jones had a plan for her future that would take her over the border. She had it all mapped out.</p><p>Hartpury College, where Waterman ran the best programme for teenage girls in the UK, then Loughborough University, which offered youngsters a direct route to the top of women's club rugby, and finally England, second only to New Zealand in the women's Test game at the time.</p><p>Jones' route played out exactly as she had planned. </p><p>She made her England debut at just 18, starting at fly-half in a 26-7 defeat by New Zealand in July 2015.</p><p>The rise on the pitch though, came against a backdrop of private strife.</p><p>Jones' mother Paula, through whom she qualifies for the Red Roses, was an alcoholic.</p><p>She was also the senior nurse on a neurology ward.</p><p>"She struggled for many years, 20 years, but she was a functioning addict," <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0l0sh9b?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Blink%5D-%5Bsport%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D">Jones told Rugby Union Weekly.</a></p><p>"And what I mean by that is, you know, you drink in a day and then go to work the next day and, you know, act like nothing kind of happened.</p><p>"It's quite common. But things just progressively got worse throughout the years."</p><p>Jones' father Simon died in August 2024, less than seven months after being diagnosed with advanced lung cancer.</p><p>While Jones' parents spilt up when she was 17, shortly after she had left home for Hartpury, the shock of his death exacerbated Paula's condition.</p><p>"I think my mum was just grieving, grieving the heart loss really," said Jones.</p><p>"She went into a massive downward spiral. I tried to get her involved in many different support networks, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, other avenues, but they didn't really work."</p><p>Jones, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/c93p9k72n40o?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Blink%5D-%5Bsport%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D">nursing a serious ankle injury,</a> cared for her mother, bathing her, feeding her, promising her that there was hope.</p><p>There was for a while, Paula was getting out of the house, staying clean, seeing family. But, once Jones moved back to her own life in Leicester, Paula suffered a relapse. A stray bottle of amaretto – missed in Jones' sweep of the house – triggered another bout of drinking.</p><p>This time she couldn't be saved. She died in December.</p><p>Jones had lost two parents in the space of four months.</p><p>"It's never easy and it never really finishes either," she said, back in March, of her grief.</p><p>"You think it passes, but it just catches you in different ways.</p><p>"I'll always think that they're there in the crowds.</p><p>"I even have moments now where I'm like, they're just at home. I'll go and see them in a couple of weeks.</p><p>"But whenever I step on to that pitch or whatever I'm training, I generally don't think about anything else. It's almost like it's my safe haven."</p><p>Jones is now a patron for The Living Room - a charity which helps those suffering from addiction in Cardiff and Carmarthen.</p><p>In her loss, she has gained something else as well.</p><p>Her stellar form this year is fuelled by a fearlessness born of bitter perspective.</p><p>"It was the best rugby I've ever played because nothing is as bad as hearing that news," <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/mar/18/i-know-how-important-it-is-to-tell-people-you-love-them-england-centre-meg-jones-on-family-tragedy-hope-and-rugby">she told the Guardian.</a></p><p>"Nothing can make me sadder, or diminish my value more than losing my dad, one of my best mates and the rock of our family."</p><p>This week, she wept tears of joy as her nomination for world player of the year was announced <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ebzmj4O_ipQ">to whoops and embraces from her team-mates.</a></p><p>There will surely be more tears on Saturday, regardless of the result.</p><p>But Jones knows those are only drips compared to the brutal depths that exist beyond the pitch.</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p0kwktkp?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Blink%5D-%5Bsport%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D">Listen: Sport's Strangest Crimes - Bloodgate</a></li><li><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p04q5p2n?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Blink%5D-%5Bsport%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D">Listen to the latest Rugby Union Weekly podcast</a></li></ul>)
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Witt, Frazier and Perez power Royals to an 8-4 win over the Angels
List of SEC schedules through 2029
The Southeastern Conference announced league matchups for the next four years Tuesday, including designating three annual — not permanent — opponents for each of its 16 teams. Here are each school’s three annuals and its opponents through 2029:
Alabama Crimson TideAnnuals: Auburn, Mississippi State, Tennessee.
2026 home: Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas A&M. 2026 away: Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt.
2027 home: Florida, Mississippi State, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas. 2027 away: Arkansas, Auburn, Oklahoma, Ole Miss.
2028 home: Auburn, Kentucky, LSU, Vanderbilt. 2028 away: Georgia, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M.
2029 home: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Tennessee. 2029 away: Auburn, Florida, Missouri, Texas.
Arkansas RazorbacksAnnuals: LSU, Missouri, Texas.
2026 home: Georgia, LSU, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee. 2026 away: Auburn, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt.
2027 home: Alabama, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Texas. 2027 away: Florida, LSU, Missouri, Mississippi State, Oklahoma.
2028 home: Auburn, LSU, Missouri, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt. 2028 away: Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas.
2029 home: Florida, Oklahoma, Mississippi State, Texas. 2029 away: Alabama, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss.
Auburn TigersAnnuals: Alabama, Georgia, Vanderbilt.
2026 home: Arkansas, Florida, LSU, Vanderbilt. 2026 away: Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M.
2027 home: Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas A&M. 2027 away: Kentucky, Missouri, Texas, Vanderbilt.
2028 home: Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Vanderbilt. 2028 away: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, LSU.
2029 home: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Texas. 2029 away: Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt.
Florida GatorsAnnuals: Georgia (neutral site), Kentucky, South Carolina.
2026 home: Oklahoma, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Vanderbilt. 2026 away: Auburn, Kentucky, Missouri, Texas. 2026 neutral: Georgia (Atlanta).
2027 home: Arkansas, Kentucky, LSU, Texas A&M. 2027 away: Alabama, South Carolina, Mississippi State, Tennessee. 2027 neutral: Georgia (Tampa, Florida).
2028 home: Auburn, Missouri, Texas, South Carolina. 2028 away: Kentucky, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt. 2028 neutral: Georgia (Jacksonville, Florida).
2029 home: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Tennessee. 2029 away: Arkansas, LSU, South Carolina, Texas A&M. 2029 neutral: Georgia (Jacksonville, Florida).
Georgia BulldogsAnnuals: Auburn, Florida (neutral), South Carolina.
2026 home: Auburn, Missouri, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt. 2026 away: Alabama, Arkansas, Ole Miss, South Carolina. 2026 neutral: Florida (Atlanta).
2027 home: LSU, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee. 2027 away: Auburn, Kentucky, Texas, Texas A&M. 2027 neutral: Florida (Tampa, Florida).
2028 home: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Ole Miss. 2028 away: Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Vanderbilt. 2028 neutral: Florida (Jacksonville, Florida).
2029 home: Kentucky, South Carolina, Texas, Texas A&M. 2029 away: Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State, Tennessee. 2029 neutral: Florida (Jacksonville, Florida).
Kentucky WildcatsAnnuals: Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee.
2026 home: Alabama, Florida, LSU, Vanderbilt. 2026 away: Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M.
2027 home: Auburn, Georgia, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee. 2027 away: Arkansas, Florida, Ole Miss, Texas.
2028 home: Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas A&M. 2028 away: Alabama, LSU, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt.
2029 home: Arkansas, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas. 2029 away: Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State.
LSU TigersAnnuals: Arkansas, Ole Miss, Texas A&M.
2026 home: Alabama, Mississippi State, Texas, Texas A&M. 2026 away: Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Tennessee.
2027 home: Arkansas, Missouri, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt. 2027 away: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas A&M.
2028 home: Auburn, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas A&M. 2028 away: Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Texas.
2029 home: Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Ole Miss, South Carolina. 2029 away: Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt.
Mississippi State BulldogsAnnuals: Alabama, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt.
2026 home: Alabama, Auburn, Missouri, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt. 2026 away: LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Texas.
2027 home: Arkansas, Florida, Ole Miss, Texas A&M. 2027 away: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt.
2028 home: Alabama, LSU, South Carolina, Texas, Vanderbilt. 2028 away: Auburn, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ole Miss.
2029 home: Georgia, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Tennessee. 2029 away: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt.
Missouri TigersAnnuals: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M.
2026 home: Florida, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M. 2026 away: Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi State, Ole Miss.
2027 home: Arkansas, Auburn, Tennessee, Vanderbilt. 2027 away: Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas A&M.
2028 home: Georgia, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Texas A&M. 2028 away: Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Texas.
2029 home: Alabama, Arkansas, LSU, South Carolina. 2029 away: Auburn, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt.
Oklahoma SoonersAnnuals: Missouri, Ole Miss, Texas (neutral).
2026 home: Kentucky, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Texas A&M. 2026 away: Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State, Missouri. 2026 neutral: Texas (Dallas).
2027 home: Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee. 2027 away: Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt. 2027 neutral: Texas (Dallas).
2028 home: Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State, Ole Miss. 2028 away: Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas A&M. 2028 neutral: Texas (Dallas).
2029 home: Auburn, LSU, Missouri, Vanderbilt. 2029 away: Alabama, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Tennessee. 2029 neutral: Texas (Dallas).
Ole Miss RebelsAnnuals: LSU, Mississippi State, Oklahoma.
2026 home: Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri. 2026 away: Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, Vanderbilt.
2027 home: Alabama, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina. 2027 away: Arkansas, LSU, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Texas A&M.
2028 home: Florida, LSU, Mississippi State, Texas, Vanderbilt. 2028 away: Auburn, Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma.
2029 home: Auburn, LSU, Missouri, Vanderbilt. 2029 away: Alabama, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, South Carolina.
South Carolina GamecocksAnnuals: Florida, Georgia, Kentucky.
2026 home: Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Texas A&M. 2026 away: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Oklahoma.
2027 home: Florida, LSU, Missouri, Texas. 2027 away: Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt.
2028 home: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Oklahoma. 2028 away: Florida, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Texas A&M.
2029 home: Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt. 2029 away: Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, Texas.
Tennessee VolunteersAnnuals: Alabama, Kentucky, Vanderbilt.
2026 home: Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, LSU, Texas. 2026 away: Arkansas, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt.
2027 home: Florida, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt. 2027 away: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma.
2028 home: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, South Carolina, Texas A&M. 2028 away: Auburn, LSU, Texas, Vanderbilt.
2029 home: Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt. 2029 away: Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Ole Miss.
Texas LonghornsAnnuals: Arkansas, Oklahoma (neutral), Texas A&M.
2026 home: Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi State, Ole Miss. 2026 away: LSU, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas A&M. 2026 neutral: Oklahoma (Dallas).
2027 home: Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky, Texas A&M. 2027 away: Alabama, Arkansas, South Carolina, Vanderbilt. 2027 neutral: Oklahoma (Dallas).
2028 home: Arkansas, LSU, Missouri, Tennessee. 2028 away: Florida, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Texas A&M. 2027 neutral: Oklahoma (Dallas).
2029 home: Alabama, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt. 2029 away: Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky. 2028 neutral: Oklahoma (Dallas).
Texas A&M AggiesAnnuals: LSU, Missouri, Texas.
2026 home: Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas. 2026 away: Alabama, LSU, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina.
2027 home: Georgia, LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt. 2027 away: Auburn, Florida, Mississippi State, Texas.
2028 home: Alabama, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas. 2028 away: Arkansas, LSU, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee.
2029 home: Auburn, Florida, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri. 2029 away: Georgia, Ole Miss, Texas, Vanderbilt.
Vanderbilt CommodoresAnnuals: Auburn, Mississippi State, Tennessee.
2026 home: Alabama, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Tennessee. 2026 away: Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State.
2027 home: Auburn, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas. 2027 away: LSU, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas A&M.
2028 home: Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee. 2028 away: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Mississippi State, Ole Miss.
2029 home: Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Texas A&M. 2029 away: Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas.
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Lincoln City website says they dominated World Champions Chelsea last night
