The second row, who has captained Wales on two previous occasions and led the British and Irish Lions in the final test last summer, believes the opportunity to captain his country again has come at the right time for him and he is excited about the two Tests which lie ahead.
“I feel pretty fortunate,” said Jones. “The opportunity has come at a good time for me.
“I have captained us against Italy a couple of times and to be leading the squad out in the southern hemisphere against South Africa is a huge privilege.
“There is a lot of experience in the squad and a lot of experienced leaders.
“The average age of the squad is increasing year-on-year and we are getting more and more experienced and that puts us in a good place.
“We have come close in the past against South Africa but we just weren’t good enough but we are all keen to get out there and show we are.
“Looking back to the autumn we were doing well but the turning point was a mismatch in the midfield and South Africa got the momentum shift down to individual errors.”
Jones will come up against the renewed partnership of Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha on Saturday and he is looking forward to the challenge.
“When I was first on the scene, it was part of any young second row’s apprenticeship to go up against Bakkies and Victor.
“As a second row it’s great to see them back in the fold but I might be saying different on Saturday.
“They are two of the best second row’s out there.”
