The Ospreys bounced back from the disappointment of losing to the Scarlets on Boxing Day to record a 17-12 victory over the Blues on New Year’s Day.
And Jones was relieved to get back to winning ways and believes the victory will give the squad confidence ahead of their clash with the Newport Gwent Dragons on Friday.
“It was a big win for us after we‘ve had a few disappointing results“said Jones.
“We‘re bitterly disappointed at the way results have gone and that‘s what you‘re judged on. We pushed Saracens and the Scarlets close but we just didn‘t manage to close the game out.
“It was important for us to just get that win, to get some belief back. There‘s been a great buzz in the camp and the boys have really fronted up over the last few weeks but it‘s that reward going into in 2012 now.
“It was pretty fierce like all derbies, there hasn‘t been too much rugby played in the last two weekends, but that‘s what these encounters always are, big physical battles.
“It was pretty intense when ball was in play, and I think our physicality just saw us come out on top in the end. We were a bit nervous towards the end I think but the boys did well. It was a team performance.
“The Blues tried to play a bit of rugby and you‘d expect that, they‘ve got world class backs and they are fantastic with ball in hand. It‘s very testing when you are defending against them and we were delighted to be able to keep them far enough away from our try-line that we were able to limit the damage to kicks. We came in at half-time and we knew that if we kept going with more of the same, more of that discipline, it would go our way.
“In these sort of games though, when they‘re not open and there aren‘t too many chances it comes down to simple things like having a strong scrum, a good set-piece to ensure you can get and keep your fair share of possession. It allows you to dominate territory and we showed at the end we have what it takes to close the game out with decisive penalties that wound the clock down.“
