The message is writ-large: cherish Alun Wyn Jones before he unlaces his size 15s for the last time
It’s the question no one wants the answer to – when will Alun Wyn Jones decide to unlace his size 15s for the last time? The talismanic lock has already played 134 times for Wales and nine times for the Lions in a position not known for slackers.
Dubbed the ‘engine room’, playing at lock requires hitting rucks, providing heft at scrum time, hard carries around the fringes, stretching every sinew in the air to reclaim balls off your fingertips and felling ball-carriers until your arms and shoulders are screaming for mercy. The Life of Riley it isn’t.
When Wales forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys last week said Jones could reach the 2023 World Cup, he was probably thinking aloud. For factual reference, the big man from the Gower would turn 38 in France. Not that that grand old age is unprecedented.
Victor Matfield played in the 2015 World Cup at 38 – but he’d taken a full year off and finished with 127 caps. Simon Shaw played in his last Test at the 2011 World Cup at 37 but had only played a modest 73 times for England, while Brad Thorn was another to hit 36 but he played for the All Blacks a paltry 59 times.
If Alun Wyn plays ten games a year until France, he’ll be pushing in the region of 170 to 180 Test caps. Now that’s unprecedented!
(Continue reading below…)
Wayne Pivac announces Wales’ 2020 Six Nations squad
If you add the 250-plus appearances he has already made for the Ospreys, he will comfortably pass 400 professional games in 2020. These sorts of giddy statistics make him look like he has the sort of genetics boasted by a member of the Marvel Comics family, not a mere mortal.
It could happen but the odds are stacked against it. Take Paul O’Connell. He looked indestructible up to the 2015 World Cup before a hamstring injury deprived him of his French swansong with Toulon and the further you get in advancing years, the higher the probability of being written off.
If Wayne Pivac and his Welsh management are doing a fine line in Plan Bs, they should be prepping for the future after the next Lions series. Jones will turn 36 by the 2021 autumn series and may have decided to take a deserved rest.
If that does transpire, Wales have a maximum of 17 games to decide on the person to take Wales forward. This year’s summer tour to New Zealand and Japan may provide a dry-run, depending on whether Jones and the Wales management decide the 12,000-mile trip is best for his longevity. A summer off would seem the sensible option.
There’s no doubt he is a force of nature and an inspirational leader. If you cast your mind back to August and the Wales vs Ireland pre-World Cup friendly, Josh Navidi captained Wales. Navidi is a fine player but on the day, the absence of Jones was keenly felt on the field. You could see it and you could feel it. Wales just didn’t look sum of their parts.
A three-tour Test Lion, Jones knits a Welsh side together like no one else in the modern era – and that includes Sam Warburton. He will soon pass Ryan Jones to sit second in leading Wales and you only had to witness the influence he exerted against Saracens on his recent return to Ospreys duty to see the galvanising effect he had.
Cajoling his pack in rolling mauls, politely questioning the referee on his decision making, he was at his cantankerous best and it should be said after 12 weeks out, he threw himself about with the abandon of an (oversized) spring foal. It was also Jones who expressed his dismay at the woeful season endured by Ospreys fans and players. There was no one else in Welsh rugby who could speak with such gravitas.
His fellow Osprey Justin Tipuric is another player to have worn the Wales armband in his absence, notably against Uruguay and the Barbarians. Tipuric is a players’ player; loyal, brave to a fault and so gifted he can play in the centre – as he did against Munster in this most dispiriting domestic season – but you sense he would not put himself forward to lead Wales on enthusiasm grounds, only a sense of duty.
A key part of the leadership group, yes, but not long-term ‘skips’. Taulupe Faletau is another individual of rare ability but he is not naturally gregarious and verbose. Sometimes in-game or in a changing room, someone of a vociferous nature is required.
Aaron Wainwright's reaction to the red card that helped swing momentum Wales' way in their win over Francehttps://t.co/oHJmAcyEIe
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 20, 2019
Someone who would be a natural fit is Ken Owens. He’s passionate, puts his body on the line and is a first-choice pick but at only 20 months younger than Jones, he could be a long-shot for France and that gives him longer odds. Another candidate is Ellis Jenkins. He has all the hallmarks for the role but is coming back from a 15-month injury lay-off and the hope is he returns to the sort of form he had pre-injury. He will need time.
This brings us to viable alternatives. It is unlikely that Wales would look to a full-back, as Scotland have with Stuart Hogg, and would look closer to the pack. For the reasons mentioned already, Dan Biggar and Hadleigh Parkes can be discounted on age-profile and therefore two men who could fit the bill are a duo from the unfancied Dragons.
Aaron Wainwright is only 22 – the same age as Sam Warburton when he took the captain’s armband – but he has similar traits. A back row, he has raw athletic ability, a clean-cut personality and is someone who leads by thought and deed. He’s also a slightly more gregarious character and looks to be a player who will be in and around the Wales set-up for the next decade.
The other player who could be an option for Wales is Alun Wyn’s partner, Cory Hill. You cannot underestimate how highly the previous Welsh management valued Hill having found space for him in the squad for Japan at the expense of Samson Lee and Rob Evans.
The word that kept cropping up in missives about Hill was ‘leadership’, an intangible yet precious commodity. Indeed, in a previous interview with Eddie Jones, we were once told that only Dylan Hartley and Owen Farrell had ‘natural’ leadership qualities in the England squad, but Hill has it in spades.
Of course, we’re told that ‘everyone is a leader now’ in controversy-free press conferences, but you need a frontman to deal with the media and essentially run a team from Thursday, which is what the erstwhile Jones expected Hartley to do when the Lion’s share of the training had been completed. It’s something Joe ‘Tinkerman’ Schmidt reputedly failed to do with Rory Best in Japan.
The England head coach says he has 'been doing his research' on Andy Farrell and Wayne Pivac.https://t.co/33lEGU1yLQ
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 20, 2020
Hill turns 28 during the tournament and has the age profile and personality to lead Wales effectively. Indeed his biggest hurdle is becoming a regular first-team starter, so the news he has been mooted as an option at blindside for certain games can be seen as a help or hindrance to that aim, depending on your point of view.
It bears repeating that Jones will be one of the few internationals who will go out on his own terms, but it would be remiss of Pivac not to start planning for a post-AWJ future however unpalatable that may be for rugby fans of a Welsh persuasion.
This will be his 15th year of Test rugby since taking his first tentative steps in 2006 in Argentina. If Jones hangs up his boots and retires the No4 shirt after next year’s Six Nations, it will mark the end of an era. In 14 months the idea he could to take his place among the Welsh greats is no longer fanciful.
The message is writ-large: cherish him while you can. Just don’t ask him when he’s retiring!
WATCH: RugbyPass have made something truly special with the Barbarians team
Comments on RugbyPass
Lets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
10 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
10 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to comments