With a 6ft 5in frame and weighing in at around 18-and-a-half stone, Alun Wyn Jones is one of the most intimidating players in world rugby, striking fear into his opponents and often carrying entire teams on his back.
But while he has developed a fearsome reputation over a 17-year international career of highs and lows, the former Wales skipper is actually a massive softie.
Announcing his retirement from Test rugby on Friday, the 37-year-old, who is the world’s most-capped rugby player of all time, explained how he had been in “ongoing dialogue with the coaching staff and the WRU” before making his decision to miss out on going to the fifth World Cup of his career.
READ MORE: The real Alun Wyn Jones, personal tales from the men who’ve known the Wales and Lions colossus best
In a lengthy statement, he said becoming a professional rugby player was “a dream come true” as he thanked all those who had supported him through his career both on and off the pitch. He also identified what had been his greatest accomplishment since making his Wales debut back in 2006. “Despite all I have accomplished, my children will always be my biggest achievement,” he said.
While he has countless accolades to his name, including five Six Nations Championships and three Grand Slams, Alun Wyn showed just how important family is to him, with he and his wife Anwen recently welcoming a third child.
From dressing up and playing with his daughters’ dolls to cuddling and kissing his teammates, here are some of the moments that prove there’s a softer side to Alun Wyn Jones that isn’t always on show:
Playing with Barbie dolls
While he is widely regarded as one of the greatest rugby players of the modern era, it’s clear that, as far as Alun Wyn is concerned, being a dad comes above anything else.
And although many would laugh at the thought of the huge lock playing with dolls with his young daughters, that’s exactly what he has done for years – and he’s really enjoyed it.
Discussing balancing his playing career and his family life on the podcast First Time Dads , the former Wales captain explained how being a dad had helped him lead a dressing room, while he also described how playing with Barbie dolls can be “the best thing”.
“The parallel of coming home bruised and battered, is [his wife] Anwen is tired, or just as tired sometimes ,even though she hasn’t been wrestling 15 or 16 stone blokes,” he said. “Parenting can be just as intense and it is 24 hours.
“At least when I am training or playing, there is someone there to blow the whistle and tell us to stop. It is nice to come home as well for the mental side of things. To be able to come home, shut the door and be the bottom of the food chain to play Barbies, or clean the kitchen floor is the best thing.”
Missing a crucial game to put his kids to bed
If anyone was somehow questioning Alun Wyn’s commitment to dad duties, he made his priorities very clear during the Six Nations in 2021, when he missed most of the crucial title decider between France and Scotland as he was putting his daughters to bed.
He only watched the final quarter of the game, which saw the Scots secure a 27-23 victory, a result which meant Wales took the title having topped the table by four points. For Alun Wyn and his family, however, it was “just a normal night”.
“Kids to bed and then it was a bit of a small matter of a rugby match on that I caught the last 20 minutes of,” he explained. “So pretty standard really.”
Looking out for a chilly mascot…
The former Wales skipper’s fatherly instincts don’t just extend to his own children, however, as he has also melted the hearts of millions over the years by looking out for the team’s young mascots and fans.
Minutes before Wales’ Grand Slam afternoon in Cardiff in 2019 kicked off, Alun Wyn cemented his reputation as rugby’s gentle giant with a gesture that initially got lost in the midst of the team’s raucous entrance into the roaring Principality Stadium.
With Ireland forcing Wales to keep the roof open and the capital being bombarded with stormy weather, the young mascot, wearing his Wales shirt and shorts, was totally exposed to the elements
Alun Wyn was seen talking to the boy, seven-year-old Joey Hobbs, and after noticing that he was clearly cold, he removed his anthem jacket before wrapping it around the young lad, prompting ahhhs across the nation.
…and turning another’s fear into instant joy
With such an imposing frame, you could forgive anyone who comes into contact with Alun Wyn on a rugby pitch to initially be overcome with fear. And that’s how one mascot at the 2019 World Cup felt when he saw the then-Wales captain strolling over to him before a huge clash with Australia.
But the terrified-looking boy was all smiles moments later, as the lock came over to him and patted him on the head before lining up with the team. In fact, he couldn’t hide his grin throughout the anthems!
Going to infinity and beyond to make someone’s day
Former teammate Adam Jones put any suggestion that Alun Wyn wasn’t a total softie to bed when he revealed that he had dressed up as Buzz Lightyear to surprise the prop’s young daughter on her birthday.
In his book, Bomb: My Autobiography, he explained how his Ospreys and Wales teammate, whose wedding he was best man at, is really “the soppiest bloke on earth in the company of youngsters”.
“[My daughter] Isla’s a massive Toy Story fan,” he wrote. “And for her third birthday he turned up dressed as Buzz Lightyear. He hadn’t told us he was going to do it — he just took it upon himself because he knew how much she’d love it. And he was right. She was absolutely made up.”
Creating unforgettable memories
Want yet another heartwarming moment? Go on then. This one came after Wales’ training session at the Principality Stadium ahead of a return World Cup warm-up match against England in 2019.
It’s customary for the Welsh Rugby Union to open their doors to a select few fans to watch their captain’s run, with players often going over and meeting fans, signing autographs and taking pictures. This time was no different but having lost heavily to England days earlier, those in attendance expected players to be focused solely on their training.
But yet Alun Wyn, as he so often does, found time to make one young fan’s year. Four-year-old Caleb Forster, who has down syndrome, was in the stands to watch the team and not only got to meet the Wales skipper, but went for a little run out on the hallowed turf with him too, leaving his parents stunned.
“We were just there for the experience and to get some autographs – me, my wife and Caleb,” said father Kelvin Craig Forster. “It was unbelievable. We were just expecting a handshake or something like that, Caleb put his arms out to him, Alun Wyn picked him up and next thing you know he’s on the pitch. It was a bit surreal. My wife cried her eyes out and I was just stood there in shock.”
“I just couldn’t believe it. For him to even think about doing something like that with everything on his plate at the moment, it’s certainly something we’re never going to forget.”
Acting the father figure
Even when there are no kids around, the Wales legend is always playing the doting father figure, admitting that he took a teenage Louis Rees-Zammit under his wing when the youngster first joined the Wales squad.
“He has played so well that you want to see him have an opportunity and hopefully he will get that,” said Alun Wyn. “I have spoken to him briefly and said if he needs anything to come and find us.
“Being a father of a four year old and a two year old, you know what it’s like. I’m sure his parents will be worried about him. Even though he’s 18, he’s still their baby. But he’s a very assured young man, the way he carries himself, so I’m sure he will be fine. He’s raring to go in the jersey by the look of it.”
Giving his teammates a cwtch
He’s always looking out for his teammates too. During his appearance on the First Time Dads podcast, he explained how he feels compelled to care for his teammates in the good times and the bad, just as he does with his children.
“Just like children there are a few props that need a cwtch now and then,” he explained. “Babies might not have protein powder with their milk, but props do so it is a similar sort of notion.
“It is funny because that caring element doesn’t change (on or off the pitch). You come out of a game, won or lost, you are in ecstasy because you won or in the doldrums because you lost.
“You come home and someone has lost their favourite dress for their Barbie, or the snacks have run out , or we have spilt squash on the table,” he added. “That is the agony and ecstasy for a four-year-old. It is all relative, and having that grounding when you come home is nice. To have that diverse feeling, the polar opposite, is the best thing for you.”
Laying a smacker on George North
However, sometimes the love Alun Wyn has for his teammates is a bit less discreet, as evidenced by the scenes after Wales’ nail-biting 29-25 victory over the Wallabies at the World Cup in Japan.
As players embraced around the pitch as the result began to sink in, the Wales skipper went one step further and celebrated by planting a kiss on the lips of winger George North, catching the winger slightly off guard.
Asked about the smooch in the post-match press conference, Jones quipped: “I think his wife is safe, put it that way! We were excited at the end and you share those moments with players. Not always, like! I’m sure there will be some memes made out of it!”
His five-word message to Warren Gatland before every game
It’s hard to find a bad word to say about him anyway, but a revelation from Warren Gatland a few years ago somehow made us love Alun Wyn that little bit more.
The lock’s efforts on the pitch saw him nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2019, with a video montage played in the build up hearing from his former teammates and coaches who offered an insight into how he had become Wales’ most-capped rugby player.
Gatland was one of those who shared his memories of working with Alun Wyn and revealed a ritual that the pair had adopted before Wales games that truly showed him for the man he is.
Speaking about his skipper, the New Zealander said: “Every game that I’ve been lucky enough to coach Wales, you shake all the players’ hands. Every single time, he looks me in the eye and says ‘thank you for the opportunity’.
“The will to win sets him apart. Sometimes there are scuffles at training and he’s usually the source of those scuffles! Not because he’s frustrated but because he’s so competitive and doesn’t want anyone to get the better of him.”
Welling up when talking about his early rugby days…
While he’s a fearsome giant of a man from the outside, the former Wales captain is not afraid to show his emotions and found himself welling up when talking about the early days of his career as he prepared to face one of his biggest ever challenges.
In a pre-match montage played ahead of Wales’ World Cup semi-final against South Africa in 2019, Alun Wyn was talking about playing for Bonymean as a teenager when he started to get choked up.
“I was fortunate enough to be taken in by the players and the people up there. It was massive for me at that young age,” he said. “Everyone who has played up on Bonymaen knows there is a definite micro climate. It is like being at the top of Everest.
“That will toughen you up, if not the desire for the game that people had up there. I love the game now as much as I loved it back then, without a question.”
Asked if thinking back on those times helped him during the build up to big games, he had to take a moment to compose himself, as he admitted “You have got me.”
“It is the dust from the chair,” he added. “It is when you have these moments that you dream about as a kid. When they get on your doorstep, it is pretty special.”
…and when his Lions career ended in heartbreak
There was more fighting back tears when Alun Wyn’s Lions career ended in heartbreak in 2021 as his side let the series against South Africa slip thanks to a last-minute penalty from Morne Steyn.
He had defied the odds to even make it there in the first place having returned from a dislocated shoulder in rapid time, but the skipper was visibly upset as he struggled to come to terms with how his fourth and final tour had ended.
Sky Sports reporter Sarra Elgan asked: “A few questions on you Alun, I know you don’t like talking about yourself but you made it our here, the odds were against you. Despite the loss, how will you look back on this tour in comparison to the other three?”
While the talisman tried to answer, he remained silent he fought to hold back the tears.
Showing a feel for the situation, Elgan continued: “This is your fourth Lions tour, I’m reluctant to say it’s going to be your last given who I’m talking to. You’re going to sign off as a Lions great – If this is the last time that you put on that jersey, what will be your memories over the last 12 years – what does wearing that jersey mean to you?
Managing to finally find the words, an emotional Jones responded: “It’s funny. For this one in particular I had to work harder second time to get out here. I know a lot of these guys will be on the next one so I look forward to watching them.”
Belting out the anthem
One of Welsh rugby’s most iconic images of the last few years is Alun Wyn belting out Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau at the top of his lungs ahead of Test matches.
However, usually, due to the passion of Welsh rugby fans, those watching at home usually struggle to hear the players singing as their efforts are drowned out by the thunderous noise inside the stadium.
But when Covid meant the Stade de France would be completely empty for Wales and France’s rearramged Six Nations clash in October 2020, we could all hear the players loud and clear.
And who, you ask, was belting it out the loudest? None other than Alun Wyn.
Taking time out from the celebrations
While he joined in with the many moments of rapturous celebration he experienced throughout his Wales career, Alun Wyn also showed a more wholesome side following his side’s Grand Slam win in 2019 as he returned to the pitch alone to let the achievement sink in.
Away from the noise of the dressing room and in the midst of an empty stadium, the captain took the time out to take a seat pitch-side when the fans had left, sitting quietly and alone with a bottle of water as the stewards made their final post-match checks inside the ground.
It made for quite the poignant scene.
Always finding the perfect words
Whether it’s on the pitch or off it, Alun Wyn always seems to know just what to say and how to say it.
When he accepted his OBE for services to rugby in 2020, he admitted he had initially been reluctant to receive the honour amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, he used the opportunity to thank those who had helped him his career as well as those working tirelessly through “trying times.
Issuing a full public statement, Jones said: “It is a huge honour to receive such an accolade. I was initially reluctant to receive such an award in these trying times when there are so many people doing so much good for the community and are more worthy, but I see this as an acknowledgement to all the people who have helped me throughout my career.
He added: “It is recognition for everyone that has supported me from grassroots and intermediate, to professional and international rugby. It is for my family, those who aren’t here anymore and those who are still here and fully behind me, and for all their support in what I have done and what I want to continue to do.”
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