The 29-year-old Scarlets loose head followed a Man of the Match performance in the win over Ireland with a try against the Scots to set up a shot at the Triple Crown for Wales against England in Cardiff on Saturday.
Those two performances, packing down against Irish Lion Tadgh Furlong and Scottish duo Zander Fagerson and WP Nel, gave Wales the platform to pick up two wins against the odds.
Now he is preparing to see off England’s Kyle Sinckler to make it a hat-trick of wins and earn another trophy to go with the Triple Crown and Grand Slam he helped Wales win in 2019.
Such has been his impact in the opening two rounds that he has overtaken all-comers to become the most valuable prop in the official Six Nations Fantasy Rugby competition, leaving Furlong and England duo Mako Vunipola and Sinckler trailing in his wake.
Not bad for someone who learned his trade playing 100+ games for Llandovery, where he was nicknamed ‘Sausage’, in the Welsh Premiership before earning a shot at the professional game at the Scarlets.
The fantasy game was one that Jones himself used to play when he was learning his craft with the Drovers, so to be top of the props means a lot.
Wyn Jones in the 2016 Swalec Cup Final with Llandovery (Inset: the current standings in the Six Nations fantasy league)
“I remember doing it when I was younger so it’s nice to see my name up there. The most points for a prop is quite flattering. I’d like to think I keep that going, I’ve had a good start to it. One of my friends texted me the other day and said, ‘keep it up, I’m not pulling you out now!’” he said.
While he has moved on in his rugby career, Jones has never forgotten his rural roots and when lockdown first became a part of everyone’s lives last year he made a return to shearing sheep to get him in the mood to strong-arm opponents in this season’s Six Nations.
Jones is from west Wales farming stock, the inheritor to a Welsh front row tradition that can be traced back to the likes of John Davies, Kevin Phillips, Brian Williams and before them Walter Williams and Peter Francis.
Fellow contemporary international props Rob Evans and Rhodri Jones also have their home roots on the land and it was during pre-season last summer – when his wedding was postponed – that the current Welsh number one No.1 went grappling with the livestock back on the family farm near Llandovery.
It turns out shearing sheep on a windy hilltop near the banks of the River Towy is just the thing to prepare for dealing with the likes of Furlong, and this weekend, Sinckler.
“It was something I hadn’t done for years until the last lockdown when all bets were off with rugby. I was getting some more time at home on the farm and I was just picking up where I left off,” he said.
“It was quite refreshing, I quite enjoyed the physical challenge of it. It’s both mental and physical. When you grow up on hard work, it showed me my way to being a Welsh international. I enjoyed rugby from a young age and kept progressing and I suppose that’s how life was on the farm, as well. I just kept helping out and went from job to job.
“The aspect of hard work came through, mentally and physically. Farmers make good props. That’s just how it is.”
Jones bumps into former Neath prop Davies from time to time and says: “John is selling agricultural items so I see him from a distance at agricultural shows and on social media more than anything. He’s definitely someone I would have watched growing up and took an interest in.”
Suitably reinvigorated after his shearing sessions, Jones got stuck into this season with relish and the 29-year-old is now playing the best rugby of his life. His strong scrummaging and dynamic contributions around the field have won him plenty of admirers, some of who are tipping him as a candidate for a Lions tour this summer.
Wyn Jones in action in the East Carms Youth final with Llandovery (Pic: Riley Sports Photography)
Collectively, Wales have made a good start to the tournament, too, although nine of Wales’ last dozen meetings with England in all matches have ended in defeat. Jones played in the last win over the old enemy, in 2019, but his other three appearances against England were losses.
“We’ve got a lot to work on, but having won the first two games this year, it’s a lot happier place to be,” he added.
He insists he is not thinking about that Lions tour, only about celebrating – within the Wales bubble – a Triple Crown come Saturday evening, if Wayne Pivac’s men can following Scotland in chopping down the red rose.
“I’ve just enjoyed every step of the way and I take every game as it comes. If it (a Lions tour) was to come my way, it does, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. It’s one of those things. I’ll keep on playing my rugby and, hopefully, keep performing on the pitch,” he said.
In Edinburgh, Jones seemed to be capturing the limelight even when he wasn’t trying to. It was he who took the brunt of Zander Fagerson’s shoulder to the head as the Scot charged into a ruck and earned himself a red card.
Jones says the rules are clear, everyone knows them, and players are not – as some pundits have claimed – now afraid to hit rucks for fear of dismissal.
“Nah, it’s something we’ve been briefed on,” says Jones. “It’s part of the game now. You know what you can and can’t do,” he added.
“As long as they ref is fair then we haven’t got any objections as players. It’s the same as if you take someone out in the air, you expect a red card, whether you think they’re the right rules or not. We just play to the rules and accept what the ref says.”
So, no close shaves – yet – for farmer Jones, unless you include the shearing sort of last summer.
You can keep in touch with both camps as we head for round two of the Guinness Six Nations for the Wales v England clash on Saturday – we’ve got interviews, videos and social posts covered right here.
