Alun Wyn Jones has opened up on just how much it will mean to him to walk out with his children when he wins his historic 150th Wales cap against Italy.
The Lions captain has recovered from two lots of surgery in time to reach the milestone in the final game of the Six Nations at the Principality Stadium. He has revealed his two daughters - six-year-old Mali and Efa, who is three - will accompany him as he takes the field.
His family couldn’t be there when he became the most-capped player in rugby history in October 2020, as his record-breaking 149th Test versus Scotland was played behind closed doors in Llanelli. Now his wife Anwen and their children can be there amid a 60,000-plus crowd as he starts in the second row.
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“Obviously I’ve been fortunate to have had a few milestones already or people keep telling me anyway,” he told the WRU.
“My first one was in Patagonia, the 50th was in Twickenham and my 100th was in Eden Park, New Zealand. Obviously my family couldn’t come when I did the world record in Parc y Scarlets in the Nations Cup. To do this one in front of my home crowd, to have my family there and my wife and daughters is huge for me. That’s the significance of the milestone or whatever you want to call it and the day.
“To be the first to do anything is an honour and a privilege, but I think to do it for Wales and to pull this jersey on as many times as I have isn’t wasted on me, particularly when you realise what rugby means to the nation. There will be people who will have played far more games of rugby than me for their local club across Wales.
"They’ve got their place in their local history and I’ve got people here that saw me come into this squad as not far off being a child and now they’re going to see me taking my children out for 150 appearances. On many levels I think Welsh rugby and the family connection and the local community is heightened for me. Irrelevant of the persona people might think of me, I’m hugely proud and that connection isn’t wasted on me.”
The 36-year-old hasn’t played since damaging his shoulder in the opening autumn international against the All Blacks in October.
“We formulated a plan pretty quick within two weeks post the New Zealand game,” he revealed.
“A couple of surgeries were required, not just due to injuries sustained in the summer but beyond that. As Wayne (Pivac) alluded to in the Six Nations launch, there was a glimmer I could potentially feature late on. There was a stick and carrot for myself and the physios back at the Ospreys. I was given a target pretty early on to work to and that was the plan rolling forward. I think with the rugby side of things I’ve had a graduated return.
“I’ve been away from the camp and out of any jersey for too long, but to come back and see the hard work the boys have put in has been really pleasing. I’m obviously coming into the camp six or seven weeks in and you can see the leadership group has been great from the performances the guys have got. The young players are speaking and performing well and the environment is as I’d expect. In fairness to the boys as someone who has come in late on, they’ve been great. I think for the most part they’re pleased to see me back, I’d hope they are anyway.”
Typical of the man, Jones added: “The weekend will mean nothing if we don’t get the win.”
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