Leeds Carnegie Sign up Former England Star Jones

Leeds Carnegie have announced their fourth new signing for the 2014-15 Greene King IPA Championship season with the capture of former England forward Chris Jones from Aviva Premiership side Worcester on a two year contract.

Jones, who has won 12 caps for England, has made over 200 appearances in the Premiership for Sale and Worcester in a career that goes back to 2001 and the 33-year-old is excited about the prospect of moving back to the North.

He commented, "I am looking forward to the challenge and getting involved at Leeds. Obviously there is some disappointment in the camp at the moment after losing out in Sunday's semi final at London Welsh, especially as they had a great chance to win. We are rebuilding now and the focus will be on next year after Friday's B&I Cup Final. I want to help Carnegie get promotion next season and hopefully I can add my experience to a fantastic group of players. Leeds have played with a lot of flair and ambition this year, and that is a style I enjoy playing.

"My first two years at Worcester were a great time but obviously this year has been difficult with results not being what we wanted as a team and personally it was frustrating not being able to contribute more. That is behind me now and after meeting James Lowes it was an easy decision to make that Leeds was right for me. He is down to earth and someone I could talk to and get along with, next season I am looking forward to enjoying my rugby and hopefully getting a few wins. I am looking forward to coaching at the club as well and that was a big factor for me in deciding to come to Leeds,” added Jones.

Jones joins Edinburgh fly half Harry Leonard and the Newcastle pair of Chris Pilgrim and James Fitzpatrick in moving to Headingley Carnegie next season. Jones believes it is an exciting time to be joining the club. He added, "When we start next year it'll be as Yorkshire Carnegie which is a great development for the club. Yorkshire is a massive catchment area, and this was something I remember they tried to do at Sale when we changed the name just to The Sharks. It would be good to see another Northern team in the Premiership, you only need to look at the England team in recent years to see the quality of players in the North and I think the brand of rugby that the team plays and a Yorkshire club will give people something they can identify with.”

Director of Rugby Chris Gibson added, "We are delighted to have secured a player of Chris' ability and experience. Having played his entire career in the Premiership, he has a proven track record and he will be a key addition to our group for next season.”