Alun Wyn is a class act and he deserves the chance to match my Lions record of Test appearances
THEY say records are there to be broken. Or at the very least equalled. That being the case, I can’t think of a finer person to match my tally of 12 Lions Test appearances for a Welshman than Alun Wyn Jones.
Given he has been named captain, there is every likelihood the talismanic Wales skipper will play in each of the three Tests against South Africa to build upon his nine Lions internationals to date.
Where Alun Wyn does eclipse me is that his 12 matches will come over four tours – a truly incredible effort of durability. Three Tests in South Africa in 2009, three more in Australia four years on, three again last time out in New Zealand in 2017, three to come against the Springboks.
My 12 Lions caps came over three tours, New Zealand 1977 and 1983 and South Africa 1980, because back then we played four Test rubbers.
Captain or not, no Lions Test cap is certain. Alun Wyn, more than anyone, will know he needs to perform well in the warm-up matches, display some form, to guarantee being Maro Itoje’s partner in the three games against the Springboks.
But everything being equal, when the Lions play that third Test in Johannesburg on August 7, I expect Alun Wyn to draw level with me.
In doing so, given the modern media age, there will probably be a fanfare and he’ll certainly know about it.
Little secret here, I didn’t have a clue I held the Welsh record for the Lions until a couple of years afterwards. Certainly not when I was playing on that 1983 tour to New Zealand.
I was the deputy manager at Cwmbran Town Shopping Centre at the time and I had a little break between meetings. To while away the minutes, I thought I’d pop into WH Smiths to take a look at some of the new rugby books coming out for Christmas.
I was flicking through the Rothmans Rugby Yearbook which, in the days before the advent of the internet and Google, was the rugby journalist’s must-have record of who played where, when and how many times.
I noticed my name in a list in the Lions section and realised that I’d broken the Test record for a Welsh player. I genuinely had no idea and thus noted with interest about how I’d apparently overtaken the previous record of 10 games held jointly by Gareth Edwards and Rhys Williams, who played second row during the 1950s.
The overall record is 17 Tests, held by the legendary Irishman Willie John McBride.
I was honestly none the wiser until I saw this about myself in Rothmans. Alun Wyn will definitely know about it when it happens this year, there will be wall-to-wall coverage, no doubt.
Another little snippet from the 1983 tour to New Zealand. After the team for the first Test was announced, I was asked to do an interview for New Zealand television. I believed it was going to be about the fact that I had played in the Test series six years before.
I was gobsmacked when the interviewer started by asking me, ‘How does it feel to be picked to play in your 50 th Test match?’
I didn’t have a clue what he was on about at first. Then my ready-reckoner clicked in and I realised that he had combined my Lions Tests with my Wales games. We had to restart the interview. It was a good job it was being recorded and not going out as it happened!
As I say, I couldn’t be happier that it’s Alun Wyn who is in line to match my Lions achievement from Wales. Regular readers of this column will testify to my admiration for everything he has done for more than a decade at the sharp end of our sport.
He’s an incredible warrior. To maintain his top condition for 14 years says everything about the man; you have to respect any individual who manages that.
A year ago, for some the odds were probably against Alun Wyn even touring, let alone being named captain and playing in the Tests. He was struggling for form, so were Wales under Wayne Pivac and there were some young second-rows bursting through who looked like being Lions kingpins.
Maro Itoje’s stock continued to rise, there was a clamour for him to be captain, James Ryan was sensational with Ireland.
Yet suddenly we have a situation where Itoje’s standards have dipped as a result of the Saracens situation, Ryan surprisingly hasn’t even been chosen and two locks who have, Tadgh Beirne and Courtney Lawes, are just as likely to play blindside flanker in the Tests.
In the meantime, Alun Wyn has picked himself up, bounced back from his 2020 woes, led Wales to a Six Nations title and proved that while every player has a dip in form, class remains permanent. That old adage rings true in his case.
He played wonderfully well, was high up in the stats for lineouts, tackles, ball-carrying and, while he was managing that, the form of Ryan dipped to such a degree that he finds himself out entirely.
I also think Alun Wyn’s captaincy will be even more important on this tour, given the Lions will be in a bubble and the players will need leadership to steer them through.
In 1977 we were stuck in our hotel because the weather was appalling. As such, it was difficult to keep up morale, but at least we could have gone out if we wanted to. It will be much harder this time given the restrictions.
In those circumstances, you need different leadership qualities, ones that are apart from the obvious that you see on the field of play.
Alun Wyn commands respect, has a way about him that can motivate and steer players from four countries through the difficult times. He’ll find the right words to keep them motivated when cooped up for so many weeks, just as evidently happened with Wales as they came so close to the Grand Slam.
That achievement, off the field as much as on it, will have persuaded Gatland that Alun Wyn is the right man to be his captain on this most unique of tours
Not everyone agrees, it seems. I wasn’t surprised to see the recent sledging being employed by the South African media in the run-up to the tour. However, I would have thought that they could have picked on a more appropriate subject than Alun Wyn.
Throughout the Six Nations he has been consistently one of our leading lights. To dismiss him as being an ‘over-hyped plodder’ is ridiculous, which is what one pundit claimed.
I also noted Will Greenwood talking up the Lions Test credentials of Ireland’s Iain Henderson. More recently, people have begin to rave about England’s Jonny Hill.
With Itoje hopefully returning to form, clearly four into two can’t go.
However, Gatland would not have selected Alun Wyn as captain unless he was convinced he was capable of commanding his place in the best XV. We don’t want another Mike
Campbell-Lamerton scenario where the captain had to drop himself from the Lions Test team in 1966.
Springboks legend Victor Matfield had a far more positive view of Alun Wyn, saying, “He’s a guy that everyone respects. It’s not just on the field, it’s off the field as well.”
I think I’d much prefer to listen to someone of Matfield’s stature in the game. He’s someone whose opinion about second-rows carries a darned sight more weight as far as I am concerned.
Anyway, Alan Wyn’s statistics speak just as loud. He is always high in respect of his tackle count which as far as I am concerned is a marker of his ability to lead by example when the chips are down.
His selection as captain is a choice I firmly agree with. Welcome to the 12-Test club Alun Wyn – I really hope it happens for you.