Summary
A West Country boy by birth, Jon moved north in 1992 to become one of the three ‘voices of William Hill’, broadcasting to the company’s then 1,700 licensed betting offices. Regular communication with the odd compilers there heightened what was already a keen interest in sports betting, predominantly in fixed odds markets.
As a sporting allrounder, Jon has a keen interest in cricket – he scored his maiden century in 2021 at the age of 52 – and football, darts and snooker. But, having grown up watching his beloved Bath Rugby, rugby union is his passion and he’s made it his job to know what it is going on in the game.
Experience
Following his stint at Rugby Times, Jon went fully freelance and he can be seen in print and online and occasionally heard talking about rugby betting on a variety of platforms. He has spoken as a voice of authority on rugby on ITV and on At the Races and was also lead Rugby Union correspondent for the short-lived The Sportsman newspaper. At Rugby World Cup 2015, Jon first became involved in the world of TV production, as a statistician and graphics producer, That has opened up another world of contacts and databases to him to help plot the downfall of the bookies through his own website www.rugbytipster.com, which was launched in August 2020.
Location
After living in Leeds for the majority of his adult life, an emotional return ‘back home’ to the Bath area came about in December 2021. Now finding himself half an hour from The Rec, Jon is in dreamland.
Specialities
Outright individual/tournament long-odds winners
Under/Overs Match Points
Match handicaps
Favorite bet of all time
Darts is every bit part and parcel of Christmas to Jon as roast turkey and stuffing but one year was more special than most, thanks to an extraordinary performance from Jelle Klaasen, backed as an 100/1 outsider to win the BDO World Championship. Klaasen obliged, defeating fellow Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld in the final, to become, at 21, the youngest champion in the competition’s history.
Most heart-breaking bet
Many a bet has gone down due to heart-breaking last-minute kicks or TMO interventions, but the one that could be the most excruciating is currently live – Leicester to be in the Gallagher Premiership Top 4 at 11/2. With 11 straight wins at the start of the season, a pay-out looked certain – at least until the salary cap investigations into the club came to light. If found guilty, Tigers will be docked points and they can kiss goodbye to their chances of making the play-offs. Bad luck, maybe, but Jon has been around the block long enough to know that’s betting for you.