New Man Alun Wyn Ready for the Wallabies

When Alun-Wyn Jones was publicly blamed by his national manager for losing a test match against England in this season’s Six Nations, and then an elbow injury ruled himself out for the rest of the tournament, it seemed as if the world had caved in on the Wales and Lions second row forward.

Up to that point everything had gone right for the 25-year-old, including a major role in the 2008 Grand Slam success and a call-up to the 2009 Lions squad for South Africa.

But when his deliberate tripping of England hooker Dylan Hartley resulted in a Twickenham yellow card and a subsequent ten minute spell in the bin in which England scored 17 unanswered points, head coach Warren Gatland made his views abundantly clear. “It was absolutely stupid what he did and it cost Wales the game today,” announced the no-nonsense Kiwi.

As if this was not bad enough, an elbow injury in the next game against Scotland prevented Jones from redeeming himself.

Now, as he prepares to take on Australia at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on Saturday, and as the newly-appointed captain of the Ospreys, Jones has a very different take on what befell him earlier this year.

“Best thing that could have happened to me,” he said, before adding: “Although of course it wasn’t the best thing to happen to Wales in terms of the loss against England.”

He will need to expand on this strange claim, and he does. “Looking back I thought I had it all and then, for a while, everything fell apart. Such is life and such is rugby. It’s all about highs and lows, and how you deal with the lows.

“The culture in the Welsh camp is that you have to accept criticism, good or bad, and that’s what happened with me. I was gutted at the time and the situation was made worse by the injury, making it a long wait to get back on to the field and play for Wales.

“Luckily the elbow cleared up for the summer tour of New Zealand and that gave me the chance to play again on a tour where Wales gave a good account of themselves, especially in the first test.

Now I’m the captain of the Ospreys and I can honestly say that if the yellow card and all its consequences hadn’t have happened I doubt I would have been chosen to take over from Ryan Jones and lead the Ospreys.

“I reckon the whole experience has matured me by two years or so. I am a very different player and person and, hopefully, a better player and person, too.”

He also, at long last, has the letters LLB after his name having finally completed his law degree after six years, twice the normal length taken to acquire one, but understandable considering his commitments to Welsh rugby.

“My father’s a solicitor and my mother a teacher so I’ve always had the merits of a good education pumped into me,” he explains. “It crossed my mind a few times not to do it because of the many extra hours spent on top of the rugby, but I’m very glad I saw it through. Whether it would lead to anything further remains to be seen, but it’s great to have the letters after my name.”

In the meantime he has the small matter of dealing with a Wallaby side that finished second in the summer’s Tri Nations tournament, and a team who may have lost to Wales in Cardiff in 2008, but who thrashed them last year at the same stadium.

For Jones the enormity of Saturday’s test match has not been lost. “We want to get into the world’s top three and be genuinely competitive at the World Cup,” he explains.

“To do this we need to build a momentum. A good autumn will help create a good Six Nations and a good Six Nations should send us into the World Cup warm-up games and then the World Cup itself in a good position, so it all starts with Australia.

“We have South Africa and New Zealand, as well as Fiji, to come in November, and then, first up, England in the Six Nations in a game I’d like us to do well in for obvious reasons, so a good start on Saturday is vital.”

Can Wales win? “There’s no doubt that Australia are a great side, as they showed in the Tri Nations. With the likes of Giteau and Cooper in the backs and Sharpe and Pocock in the forwards they have tremendous flair in attack, abrasiveness up front and are very dangerous in both the contact and breakdown areas.

“We need to reproduce the form we showed in New Zealand in the summer, starve them of the ball and employ our strengths. There’s no doubt that the new laws have meant keeping the ball in play more and offered counter-attacking teams more opportunities. That’s right up Wales’s street. So yes, we can beat Australia for sure, but it will take an 80-minute performance that we have mainly failed to deliver in recent games against the big three from the Tri Nations.”

The news of Gavin Henson’s return to rugby with Saracens for the rest of the season once his spell on “Strictly Come Dancing” comes to an end can only be good news for Wales as well, in terms of strengthening yet more a squad that has already acquired greater depth but Jones, who has played alongside the former Osprey many times for both club and region, has a word of warning.

“Everyone knows Gavin has an abundance of talent and we’re all hoping he can recapture the kind of form that made him such a stand-out player,” he reasons. “An in-form Gavin Henson will be pushing hard for a place back in the Wales team, for sure.

“But there’s great competition for places now in the Welsh midfield and there’s no way Gavin should be rushed back. He needs to play consistently, get game time, and prove to himself and everyone else that he is back mentally as well as physically. We’ll know more after four or five games but let’s all be patient and hope it works out for him and for Wales.”

Constructive words from Jones, LLB, but then again a small trip has transformed the man into an impressive rugby figure.