Wales U20 captain ready for Georgia

In under a fortnight’s time, he will lead his country out against Australia at the World Rugby U20 Championship in Georgia. It will undoubtedly be the most momentous occasion of the 19-year-old’s rugby life.
 
“They selected the squad and the captaincy after our training camp at Aldershot last week, so that was the first I knew of it,” says Jones, who led the team at this year’s U20 Six Nations. “It wasn’t something I took for granted, because there were undoubtedly several candidates for that role. Every member of our leadership group could easily do the job.
 
“That helps me because it makes my life a lot easier having all of them contributing. It means it doesn’t have to be just me talking on the pitch.”
 
Time spent with the British Army at the Aldershot Garrison brought the group a lot closer together, he says. “It was something that we needed going into Georgia, because we’re going to be with each other 24/7. It was probably the most intense few days of training we’ve had, but all of the boys pulled through it together. The Army gave us a different perspective and a change of environment which was ideal.”
 
Much of what was worked on in the historic military town was put into effect against Scotland at the Brewery Field on Tuesday, as Wales put in a promising performance against the visitors in a 29-22 victory.
 
“We were looking more for a team performance than an actual result,” explains the Swansea University sports science student. “We got that. A few things need to be cleared up – perhaps in terms of our defence towards the end of the game – but I felt like our attacking plays were really good, as well as our open play running.”
 
Jones acknowledges that Wales will need to be at their attacking best against Australia come the evening of Wednesday 31st May in Tbilisi. “We know all about their threats, but we also know what we need to work on from the Scotland game and we’re very confident.”
 
What about England, also in their pool, and against whom Wales had a lively encounter at Parc Eirias back in March? “It’ll be more of same, I’m sure,” Jones reckons. “They’ll go up another level, just as we will. They’re missing four boys from the Six Nations campaign due to senior international call-ups, but they’ll always be the same: fast and physical. We’ll just be focusing on getting through the Australia game first.”
 
For Jones, who has already experienced the delights of Tbilisi as a judoka in the Youth Olympics in 2015, Georgia represents a huge opportunity for every single player in the Wales U20 squad. The recent selection of Rhun Williams and Keelan Giles for the national squad’s summer tour is a shining example to all of them.
 
“It’s the realisation that the opportunity is there,” says Jones of the selection not just of Williams and Giles, but a host of other recent U20 graduates. “As long as you perform well with the U20s, you’re on right path because it is a gateway.
 
“You can’t go out as an individual to do it: you’ve got to do it as a team, as Rhun and Keelan have shown. You’ve got to buy into the team approach, and all the players in this 28-man squad know that.”