15 years on... looking for Alun Wyn, a Welsh Back at where it all began rugby legend in the making
IT was September 4, 2005, and Daniel Powter’s single Bad Day was riding high in the charts, but that particular 24 hours was to bring anything but grim tidings for the Ospreys.
For a start, they marked the opening of the Liberty Stadium with a 22-20 win over Leinster.
They also gave a competitive debut off the bench to a little-known 19-year-old named Alun Wyn Jones, a kid who had been raising eyebrows even among senior professionals at the region with his full-on approach in training.
Since then that young lock has grown into one of the great figures in Welsh rugby history.
He has reached the momentous milestone of 400 games with 138 caps for Wales, 20 appearances for the Lions, including Tests, and 242 outings for the Ospreys.
But who were the men playing alongside him when he started out all those years ago?
MARK ORDERS spoke to one of them, the fly-half Matthew Jones, and asked him for his take on the Ospreys’ starting XV and replacements and what they did next.
Here’s what the one-cap Wales international came up with...
15. STEFAN TERBLANCHE
The Body. Well, that’s what the boys called him back in the day because of the shape he was in. There’s ripped and then there was Stefan. He was a SouthAfricainternationalwhodidn’t makeamistakeandwasunbelievably consistent. Every game would have been a seven or eight out of 10 perfomance. He went home to South Africa and has done a lot of travelling over the years.
14. RICHARD MUSTOE
Rich was a 100mph player I admired a lot. He may not have been a household name compared with some of the back-three guys at the Ospreys in those days, but he put himself in the selection mix every Saturday. He was just so difficult to tackle. When he joined us, he was working part-time for a funeral director’s business, and is still in that line of work.
13. SONNY PARKER
A quiet man who just exuded calm. I liked playing alongside Sonny as a youngster as he was such a steadying influence. He was the glue in our backline, had a great handoff and didn’t miss a beat in defence. Won a lot of caps with Wales and went on to become director of rugby at London Welsh before returning home to New Zealand, where he’s nowadays a busy man, with his Twitter bio saying he’s an operational manager, coach, tutor and personal trainer.
12. ANDREW BISHOP
I always saw Bish as the Allan Bateman of his era. He didn’t say too much, could hit attackers into next week with his tackling, had no ego
and just got on with his job. Him and his brother David could handle themselves, too – put it this way, not many people would want to dance with the Bishops at that time. I was around the same age as Andrew and he was one of my best mates.
11. ALED BREW
I think Shane Williams would probably have been resting up after the Lions tour that year, but Aled could play, too. A really strong runner, he’d come up with moments of magic on the field. The last I read he was looking for a club after leaving Bath. A year or so earlier he was flirting with the idea of becoming a policeman.
10. MATTHEW JONES
That would be me, young and fresh-faced at the time. I had won a Wales cap on tour in North America that summer and was really looking forward to the season starting. I suffered a serious knee injury the following year and subsequently left the Ospreys at a time when they had Shaun Connor, Gavin Henson and James Hook in their squad. I went on to play for Worcester, the Dragons and Bristol. I loved every minute of my career. It was what I always wanted to do as a kid. I have met some great people, had great life experiences and don’t regret any thing. These days, I’m rugby co-ordinator at Coleg Gwent in Cross Keys.
9. JASON SPICE
It’s hard to think of a scrum-half who could run a game like this man. He seemed to know what was going to happen on a field before anyone else and often that was because he’d be the guy making it happen. He’s back in New Zealand now, I think, doing something like I’m doing.
1. DUNCAN JONES
Quiet off the pitch, explosive on it – there were a couple of those with the Ospreys at that time. He won a load of caps with Wales and was a guy who just wanted to learn and improve > 15 years on and Andrew Millward is now managing director of the Ospreys himself. These days, he’s building a successful coaching career at the Ospreys.
2. BARRY WILLIAMS
Ospreys’ captain in 2005, and a bloke who led from the front. He wasn’t just on top of the basics as a hooker. He could also get around the field, carrying, passing and offloading. He just loved rugby. Went into industry after leaving the game.
3. ANDREW MILLWARD
Rowland Phillips wrote some Neath pen-pics back in the day and said of the then tighthead known as Bully: “I asked him once how he came to be given his nickname. He said nothing, just punched me in the arm and pinched my sweets.” Brilliant.
Andrew was a very good tighthead, respected on the circuit for his uncompromising scrummaging but also no slouch in the loose. He’s moved on to big things since, now managing director of the Ospreys.
4. ANDREW NEWMAN
A story about him has acquired classic status at The Gnoll, after he jumped straight into a Neath pre-season training session on Aberavon Beach shortly after joining from Northampton. The big man flaked out under the hot sun and was quickly surrounded by Neath players and coaches. Meantime, Allan Bateman
had been to his car to pick up his phone and when he got back he found Andy covered in coats, with everyone saying: “He’s gone, he’s gone.” The word was Allan was beside himself with concern until someone told him that, actually, Andy was still very much still with us.
Let’s call it Neath RFC humour at the time. Andy was a big lump who’d add ballast to any pack. He went up to
Scotland for a while, and was missed because he was the life and soul of things, a born entertainer.
5. LYNDON BATEMAN
Some rugby players are the sharpest dressers around. This guy wasn’t among them. He had a terrible dress sense – truly terrible. I’ve lost touch with him over the years but he had a great engine as a player and was a great bloke, unassuming and very popular.
6. LEE BEACH
Another character, Beachy played sevens for Wales and was a really good back-row forward who enjoyed a lot of success with Neath on the semi-pro scene and also with Pontypridd. I’d call him a heart-andsoul player who gave his all every
week. Went on to become a business development manager.
7. STEVE TANDY
Maybe the most underrated player in Welsh rugby at the time. For some reason he didn’t break through with Wales, but he was as fit as a fiddle and had a fantastic skill set. Has since gone on to succeed as a coach, following up his stint in charge at the Ospreys with time with the Waratahs and now with Scotland, as defence coach. Steve’s a good guy who you’d always want on your side.
8. ANDY LLOYD
He’d won his Wales cap a few years earlier and I was a bit surprised he didn’t feature a few more times. He’d played in England and came back a really good player, with good hands, strength going forward and bravery in defence. Off the field, he was incredibly easy to get on with. Later, took on a staff job with the Ospreys and is now with the Welsh Rugby Union.
REPLACEMENTS
(Huw Bennett, Paul James, Ian Evans, Alun Wyn Jones, Rhodri Wells, Shaun Connor, Leigh Davies) The thing is with the Ospreys at the time, they could always field a decent bench and this occasion was no different. There were some outstanding players among those replacements.
Alun Wyn came on as a second-half sub. Did I expect him to go on and achieve what he has in the game?
There are never any guarantees, but it was obvious he was going places. He used to give it everything in training, going flat-out in every session, taking things to the very edge. They say he’s still like it today. It’s just the way he is.
He’s been an all-time great and he’s looked after himself. It’s amazing to think he’s still going, but what a player he’s been.