Alun-Wyn Jones is a Welsh rugby union player. He is the current captain of the Wales national team, and the former captain of the Ospreys in the Pro14. He is the world's most-capped lock forward and Wales' joint most capped player alongside Gethin Jenkins. He has also won nine caps for the British & Irish Lions. He is one of a small group of Welsh players to have won three Grand Slams including Ryan Jones, Adam Jones, Gethin Jenkins, Gerald Davies, Gareth Edwards and J. P. R. Williams. He won the player of the Six Nations 2019 and is said to be the best lock going into the Rugby World Cup.
Having previously represented Wales at under-21 level, he made his test debut for Wales in June 2006 against Argentina. Originally playing as a blindside flanker, he became a lock/second row. It was as a lock that he featured, and excelled, in Wales' 2007 Six Nations campaign. He was a member of the Wales side that completed the Grand Slam in the 2008 Six Nations. In March 2009 Jones captained Wales against Italy in the Six Nations, becoming the 126th player to be captain of the country. In 2009 Jones was one of 13 Welsh players selected in the squad for the British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa. He scored a try in his debut for the Lions against the Royal XV. He started the first test and came on as a replacement in the second and third tests. On 18 January 2010, he was named in the 35-man Wales squad for the 2010 Six Nations tournament. During the first 2010 Six Nations game against England, Jones tripped English player Dylan Hartley, for which he was sent to the sin-bin. During his 10 minutes there, England scored 17 points and went on to victory.
On 30 April 2013, Jones was selected for the Lions' tour to Australia. Due to Sam Warburton's tour-ending injury in the second test, Jones was selected as captain for the deciding third test in Sydney, which the Lions won 41–16. This made him the first substitute captain to lead the Lions to victory in the final test of a series since 1904. 2014 saw Jones captain Wales three times – once against Italy and twice against South Africa. In the 2014 Autumn Internationals, he scored a try in Wales's 28–33 loss to Australia.
