My first England cap

Parlour, Winterburn, Wright and...me! These were four of the names on the team sheet for an England Legends XI at Dagenham and Redbridge's Victoria Ground.

The opposition for this illustrious list of former internationals, who boast 200 caps between them, was Ivory FC, an amateur side from Essex.

The match was the culmination of Nivea For Men's Great Football Experiment, where over the previous few months this ordinary bunch of Essex guys had been coached by Terry Venables, Ray Wilkins and Ray Clemence, given support from top physios, the best nutritional advice, and a brand new kit, all in preparation for the ultimate test - a match against a team made up of past England heroes.

Following a nationwide search, Nivea For Men found the one club who had the drive, commitment and attitude they were looking for and Ivory FC were selected for this experiment to see if the best preparation really does matter.

A day that every boy dreams of had arrived - dusting off my boots and pulling on an England shirt. My stomach was twisting and turning like Cristiano Ronaldo flying down the wing.

The England changing room was everything I expected; shirts hung up, shorts and socks folded and banter flying round between the players. Rob Lee, Ian Walker and my namesake former Liverpool right-back Rob Jones welcomed me as if I had been part of the fold for years.

After a particularly relaxed pre-match team talk the match began, sadly with me warming the bench. But at half-time, with the 1-0 to Ivory FC, I was asked to come off the bench and replace European Cup winner Tony Woodcock. I didn't do a 'Tevez' , in fact quite the opposite, and jumped at the chance to play with my new teammates in front of the 1,000+ spectators.

The packed Victoria Ground could now sing 'Two Rob Joneses, there's only two Rob Joneses', or at least I think they would have if they had known who I was.

Not long into the second-half a foul was wrongly given against me and from the resulting free-kick we found ourselves 2-0 down.

Time to change the game.

With the average age of the England Legends about 45, fitness was an issue. Fortunately that wasn't the case with me, just a lack of ability. But with 20 minutes to go, I received the ball from former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour, aka the Romford Pele, and nut-megged the onrushing defender before squaring it to two-time European Cup winner Viv Anderson to, eventually, tuck it away.

Our pressure continued until the end of the game, but to no avail. England Legends (and me) were beaten 2-1.

• For more information on Nivea For Men's Great Football Experiment