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What Adam Jones looks for in a tighthead

By Owain Jones
Adam Jones (Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images).

Life is full of quirky coincidences. When Tomas Francis, a cherubic hulk of a man, was discovered by Brett Davey, at Doncaster Knights, his Welsh coach was only privy to his tighthead’s Celtic origins after the young tighthead broke down in the changing rooms after finding out about family bereavement.

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As it transpired, after some gentle interrogation, he found Francis’ grandmother had passed away and she hailed from the upper Swansea Valley village of Abercrave.

Now for those of you who know your rugby onions, that, of course, is the birthplace of Wales’ greatest tighthead of the professional era, Adam Jones.

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Francis, of course, has since gone on to win 48 caps, taking over from the curly-mopped icon, but it was a chance encounter in 2015 that still affords Jones, a little chuckle. The Harlequins scrum-coach takes up the story. “Just after the 2015 World Cup, Quins were down at Sandy Park and their team manager, Tony Hanks came up to me and said, ‘can you sign a book for Tommy?’ Now I didn’t really join the dots. I didn’t know who he meant by Tommy but my autobiography had just come out and I’d talked extensively about being dropped by Wales the previous year. After the game, I spoke to Tony again and said, ‘where’s this Tommy then?’ I waited around for a few minutes and Tomas Francis came around the corner! It was a surreal moment. He’d taken my place in the side and now I’m signing my book for him,” Jones laughs. “It was a bit of a weird one, but he’s a lovely bloke.”

In the proceeding five years, Francis has developed into a tighthead of genuine Test class and made the Welsh No 3 shirt his own until the Exeter Chief tried to halt a rampaging Duane Vermeulen in Japan and ended up on the wrong side of a six-month layoff with a shoulder injury.

The absence gave three rivals to the No 3 shirt a chance to stake their claim. Dillon Lewis, is the incumbent, a regular understudy to Francis, but Leon Brown, Lewis’ age-grade rival has also matured rapidly and a gargantuan tighthead by the name of WillGriff John was due to make his Wales debut against Scotland until Coronavirus nuked his long-held ambition.

All in all, it’s a bit of a muddle, especially given how the Welsh front-row came under scrutiny during the Six Nations.

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For Jones, who has mentored one of the world’s foremost tightheads, in Kyle Sinckler, with a recruitment hat on, certain boxes have to be ticked when scouring the globe for a top-class No 3. “Firstly, it sounds obvious, but you need to be able to scrummage. Look at South Africa in the World Cup final. They had Frans Malherbe, a giant scrummager starting. He does bits and pieces around the field but his primary job is to be able to hold his end up when the pressure is on.”

Mention of Sinckler leads to Jones feeling he is something of an outlier; an exception to the rule. “Kyle is not the biggest of tightheads, he’s only about 18st, but he’s very strong, powerful and has fantastic technique. Now he’s off to Bristol, we’ve signed Wilco Low, who is at the different end of the spectrum. He’s 6ft 1in and pushing 20st. A naturally big man. I was the same, I could get to 20 stone easily so I had to work hard to keep at my fighting weight!”

Another piano pusher who fits the perfect mould in Jones’ eyes but adds the extras is Tadhg Furlong. “He has farmer’s size. You know that natural strength but he can do the extras that stand out. It’s hard to compare with yesteryear, but these days you have to be able to make your tackles, hit your rucks, carry the ball, even if you’re not Tadhg, Sincks or Owen Franks.”

Warming up to his subject, because you sense Jones could talk about scrummaging until the bovines return for supper, he adds. “I don’t want to go on harping about when I played but I knew I wasn’t a good ball-carrier, so I wouldn’t readily offer myself. When Gats came in, he’d say, ‘do your scrummaging work, hit your rucks and you’ll have done your job’. It was similar with Ian Gough, who wasn’t a great ball carrier or lineout technician, but he would hit things all day long.”

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For Jones, the lesson for his successors is not to try and be something you’re not. “I remember in 2003, Lyn Jones asking me at our end-of-season reviews, where do you see your game going? And I said, ‘I want to be more like Duncan (Jones)’. He said, ‘look, just get one thing you are exceptionally good at and stick with that. You’re not Duncan so don’t worry about it.’ I suppose that’s why me and Gethin (Jenkins) worked well together for Wales. We had different, complimentary skills.”

Adam Jones
Adam Jones (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Indeed, when Francis locked down the scrum for Wales, he was primarily in the side for his destructive scrummaging game, not his offloads or running lines, that was left to Rob Evans, but he has evolved markedly. “In the last four or five years we’ve played Exeter, they’ve earnt a reputation as a really good scrum. Harry Williams, Alec Hepburn, Ben Moon, and Tomas have been a massive part of that. They have lots of hair but also lots of talent. When he started with Wales Tomas had the same sort of treatment I did to trim down. Gats knew they had to get him under 20st and find the right weight for him. I don’t want to say too much, as we play against them, but he is technically sound. Where I think he’s improved is his physicality levels have upped a lot in the last few years. He has a lot more aggression in his game. That’s what you want from tighthead.”

Like so many, Francis’ stock has arguably risen in his absence, but Jones feels some patience is required with those snapping at his size 12s. “If you’re looking at the bigger picture, we’re blooding these kids in pretty much the hardest position on the field, alongside the kicker, or full-back. If the scrum goes backwards, then nine times out of ten, the tighthead gets the blame. Don’t forget these boys are young in propping terms. Dillon is 24 and Leon (Brown) 23. They are learning on the job.”

As for the elder Cardiff Blue, Jones has no doubts as to his long-term suitability and feels he will prosper under the tutelage of Jonathan Humphreys. “Dillon has all the capabilities. He’s bright and a good kid. When I was with Cardiff for the season, he was in the Academy and you could see he was going to be a good player. I’d have loved to have been as big and powerful as him at that age. He reminds me of myself coming through when they even put Gethin at tighthead. When you’re finding your feet, you have to learn quickly. I know the way Jon (Humphreys) will want them to scrummage so they have a very good coach to get them to the level they want to be. Humph is brilliant but I grew up watching him as the captain as Wales, though to be honest, he used to give away too many penalties. I was more of a Garin Jenkins fan at the time,” chides Jones of his former coach and friend at the Ospreys.

Where Lewis came under the microscope of fans and Welsh rugby’ cognoscenti was in Dublin where in the 66th minute of the game, with Ireland under the cosh, a scrum penalty was awarded against him for collapsing the scrum, with Furlong boisterously celebrating a pivotal moment. “He had a mark on his back after that which means other props will have a go at him. I had a look at the penalty against Ireland but you can’t just blame the tighthead for it. There were a few things. Toby (Faletau) seemed to be binding a bit like Billy Vunipola does, right hand down on the floor, so there was no weight going through Al (Alun Wyn Jones). The longer the ball is in there, the more you give the referee a margin to penalise you.”

tighthead
Dillon Lewis

Further scrutiny came his way in the thriller against France when Lewis hit a remarkable 40 rucks in 70 minutes, to show his prodigious work rate. Wales had an attacking scrum and were again penalised in a decision that was hotly contested post-match. “Against France, we scrummed really well and got caught with that scrum on the five metre line when Demba Bamba, who had just come on, came across and attacked our front row. Scrummaging at the top level demands concentration from everyone at every possible moment or you risk a decision going against you at the wrong time.”

As for Leon Brown, a perceived scrummaging weakness has improved immeasurably since being overlooked for Wales’ World Cup squad in Japan after a testing time against Ireland at the Principality. Jones says the Dragon has different challenges to Lewis. “He’s a taller kid, around 6ft 2in, so he needs to be technically spot on. He doesn’t want to be going in towards the hooker, he needs to be square and bind his appropriate leg length. If he gets too much of a bend in his knees there will be too much movement in his feet and if the loosehead gets a sniff, they’ll come after you. I’ve spoken to Hibbs (Richard Hibbard) about him he’s said he’s come on hell of a lot this year. It reminds me of speaking to Paul Tito about Carl Hayman, because he was taller, at 6ft 4in. Paul said it was his leg strength, hips and his core that enabled him to do what he did. Personally, I used to grow up watching Olo Brown, who had a more of a squat frame but was a fantastic tighthead.”

WiffGriff John looks on
WillGriff John (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

The outsider is for the No 3 position is WillGriff John, who came tantalisingly close to a debut against Scotland. He’s an adversary Jones knows well, after analysing him on several occasions in the Premiership for Sale. “WillGriff is another massive man. He’s not carrying too much timber on him but he’s still over 20st. In the Premiership, we’ve been evens against him but we had (Joe) Marler against him, which is a bad marker. He’s a good player, a big part of how they’ve got into the top half of the Premiership. From his time in the Welsh camp he’ll have had feedback on what he needs to do. A complication is he’s up at Sale, whereas if he was at a Welsh region, they’d have more say in how he develops.”

Whether Wales are able to travel to New Zealand in July, which is looking perilous, to say the least, or they’re thrust into finishing the Six Nations in the Autumn, Jones thinks increased competition at No 3 has given Francis enough warning to know the trio are breathing down his neck. “I don’t think Tomas will walk back into the No 3 shirt. He’s been out for a while and will have to perform for Exeter. It’ll be tough for him. These kids are young, they want it and they’re pushing for it, if you excuse the pun.”

As they build to France in 2023 Jones, however, feels there is enough quality to make sure Wales aren’t a weak link at the set-piece. “As Humph will tell you, it will take a little bit of learning to get there, but they are all fantastic players. Don’t forget, Dillon and Leon both offer a lot from the bench. To have three or four tightheads between 23 and 28 is a good place for Wales to be in. It will come.”

Whether any of the trio will be searching out Francis for a book signing in future is debatable. The battle for the No 3 shirt is alive and kicking.

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Jon 1 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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j
john 4 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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Adrian 6 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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T
Trevor 8 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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