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Alun Wyn Jones: 'I think almost daily about possible World Cup glory'

By Online Editors
Alun Wyn Jones. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones admits it would be “not far off” to say he thinks daily about possible World Cup glory.

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Jones leads Wales’ World Cup squad to Japan on Wednesday, where they are widely expected to be a main mover and shaker.

He is also set to become his country’s most capped player during the competition, currently standing just one appearance behind Gethin Jenkins’ Wales record of 129 Tests.

When Jones’ nine British and Irish Lions Tests are added to the mix – and the fourth World Cup that awaits him – his place among Welsh rugby’s all-time greats has long been confirmed.

But the aim of challenging for World Cup honours is a driving force for a player revered by team-mates and opponents alike.

“I dreamt to play for Wales, and if you do that, you want to win a Grand Slam,” Jones said.

“You win a Grand Slam, what’s the next best thing? I have not won a (European) Champions Cup, I have not won a World Cup.

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“Do I think about these things daily? Not far off. I am on the cusp of potentially my last chance of it, so here we go.

“In 2011 we got to a semi-final, and on another night we get to the final and what happened will go down in the annals.

“In 2015 everybody talks about us beating England, but we go on to facing Australia and them being down to 13 men and we don’t capitalise.

“You remember all those things and moments, and I have had a bit of everything with my experiences.”

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The Ospreys lock was central to Wales’ record 14-game unbeaten run set between March last year and this summer that included a Six Nations Grand Slam and Jones being named player of the tournament.

He is relishing what lies ahead in Japan, and he also hopes that Asia’s first World Cup will be remembered for the rugby it produces.

“If you are getting into rugby, or a neutral, it is mouthwatering,” he added.

“To have such a potentially open World Cup in such an exciting country – which is going to put on a hell of show by all accounts – is going to be great for the game.

“I just fear that potentially this summer the way decisions have gone on the field with certain things, it is becoming increasingly difficult for referees.

“I hope that does not overshadow the rugby and that sort of stuff. They seem to have got their act in order, which seems to bode well for the competition.”

Asked if the Wales squad had talked about issues such as red cards, Jones said: “No we haven’t, but I feel it is worth mentioning because it is potentially going to be such an open tournament and you would not want that to be a talking point.

“You want rugby, the competition and Japan to be the talking points and nothing else.

“I am not trying to set the cat among the pigeons in that regard, but I think that should be the focus and not should have, would have, could have with some decisions that can influence games.”

Many pundits feel that Wales’ current group for head coach Warren Gatland’s final tournament in charge is their best-assembled World Cup squad.

“Whether it is the best, I don’t know, and the jury will be out until we see the results,” Jones said.

“But from a balance point of view and age profiles, along with performances, it is an exciting squad with a lot of potential.

“We are going to be judged this year on what we do in this competition. The last three months has laid the foundation for what lies ahead.”

– Press Association

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Jon 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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