I HAD to laugh the other day when someone tweeted the Exeter Chiefs website player profiles showing that former Saints centre Josh Jones had not only piled on the extra poundage, but had also gained five inches in height.

With a stated weight of 18st 13lb and a height statistic of 6ft 5 I am not surprised Jones is returning north.

He has cited family reasons, given his partner Olivia is expecting their first child in June, but I reckon he can no longer cope with the weekly stints on the rack to get him up to the required height to play union.

Only joking. Of course, it is just a keyboard slip, and they do happen. Potential new clubs should be aware he is still the same height and weight he was when he left Saints.

The serious point here is that Jones is heading back, probably to Super League, after such a short stay in a sport where he initially set out his aim to play for England.

Although it won’t grab the same headlines as Sam Burgess’s reversion of his code-switch after his departure from Bath to South Sydney, it again underlines the difficulty in making a transition.

Exeter coach Rob Baxter expressed his disappointment at the news that Jones is returning north barely three months since joining the club.

In that time the 22-year-old centre has not featured for the Exeter Chiefs first team, learning what was his new code with the Devon side’s second string and Taunton Titans.

It makes you wonder, had he chosen a club closer to home maybe the transition and changes in family circumstances may have been more manageable.

Instead he will be back 'home' in search of a Super League club. He should not have much trouble finding one.

Saints have filled his centre spot by recruiting Dominique Peyroux and already have plenty of back rowers, so it is hard to see him making an immediate return to Saints.

That said, when he last spoke about it in the summer Keiron Cunningham said the player had not burnt his bridges at the club and they would look at him if he decided to return.

That is unlikely to be this year.

It was a shame he left in the first place because he was just about finding his true role in rugby league.

Although not the flashiest of players he ran strongly, tackled hard and was developing a good understanding of the game.

Jones also scored some memorable tries.

When it comes to signing off in style, Jones certainly did that when he helped Saints snatch an18-14 win over Wigan to deny the Warriors the League Leaders’ shield with the match-winning try three minutes from the end of a pulsating derby.