The Ospreys are ready to unleash a 'raring to go' Alun Wyn Jones this week as they look to snatch the Welsh Shield from under the Scarlets' nose.
Toby Booth's side will begin their four-game run-in with a trip to the Arms Park to face a beleaguered Cardiff side. it'll be the first of three derby matches for the Swansea-based region in the next few weeks and talisman Jones is ready to take part in all of them. The lock, who will make his 250th appearance for the region should he be named as expected, has been rested since the Six Nations, when he returned from a shoulder injury that he suffered last autumn.
But he is now firmly in the frame to return and help the Ospreys salvage something from their season. Currently, that looks like toppling the Scarlets in the Welsh Shield and earning themselves a Champions Cup spot in the process.
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Asked whether Jones would be available for the remaining four Ospreys matches, Booth said: “I expect him to be available. We have been very conscious – he didn’t go to South Africa and we were very deliberate on what we did post-Six Nations to get him to a point where he is raring to go and fully fit.
“He is definitely at full force.”
On the impending milestone, he added: “If you add [the 250 appearances] into the international caps, we’ll add those in, 400 first-class games or international standard first-class games is an unbelievable achievement. I said on record last time, when everyone was talking about 150 internationals, I find that an absolutely phenomenal number in the attritional position that he plays.
“I don’t think we’ll see those numbers again. But as he would put it, it doesn’t really matter. H will enjoy the milestones at the end. All he is really focused on is playing well, performing well for the Ospreys and proving to everybody that he is still the force to be reckoned with.
“I have no doubt that that will take place.”
Meanwhile, fellow Wales international George North is also approaching a return to action. The winger suffered a serious knee ligament injury last year that robbed him of the chance to tour with the British and Irish Lions. He was expected to return before now but has hit some snags in his rehabilitation.
But it seems there is finally some light at the end of the tunnel.
“I expect to see him next week,” Booth said when asked about the situation. "George is actually fit, as in healthy, but from a volume point of view, he is not gong to be involved this week."
