About Stacey Jones
Stacey William Jones (born 7 May 1976) is a New Zealand professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of New Zealand at international level. He is a former professional rugby league footballer who has been named amongst the greatest New Zealand has ever produced. He played as a halfback, but he has also briefly played at five-eighth during his distinguished career, which includes 46 tests for New Zealand (1995–2006). Stacey Jones is the first and only life member of the New Zealand Warriors club whose records for most appearances, tries and points he held at the time of his retirement. He also spent two seasons with the Catalans Dragons in their first years in the Super League. Jones' vision and ability to control the game when his team was on attack earned him the sobriquet "the little general", a reference also to his small stature in comparison to that of most rugby league players. Jones was often able to find players with a high bombing kick at either sides of the field or place a sneaky through ball for oncoming players to pounce on. He's the epitome of a New Zealand champion. Jones was spotted by the new Auckland Warriors franchise and made his first grade debut in 1995 against the Parramatta Eels in their inaugural year in what is now the National Rugby League (NRL). On 23 April 1995 Jones made his first-grade début in Sydney, coming off bench to score a try in the Warriors' 40–4 win over the Parramatta Eels.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.