The legendary former Wales captain has given his take on the current state of Welsh rugby and suggested where his future may lie
Wales legend Alun Wyn Jones says those making the decisions at the top of Welsh rugby deserve some credit for “taking the leap” and announcing dramatic changes to the professional game, while also voicing his frustration over how the saga has been drawn out.
After confirming plans to reduce the number of Welsh regions from four to three, the Welsh Rugby Union has given Wales’ professional sides until the end of the calendar year to agree upon their futures. While the governing body is hoping for consensus to be reached by the time 2026 begins, if it is not, a tender process will immediately begin to whittle four down to three.
The WRU hopes to reach a decision on who the three teams will be by the end of the current campaign, but director of rugby and elite performance Dave Reddin has admitted the timeline will be “challenging” and suggested that a “more realistic” date to get to three teams may be the end of the following season.
With uncertainty hanging over the Scarlets and his former side Ospreys, Jones, who retired in 2023 after winning a record 170 international caps, was asked for his thoughts on the current state of Welsh rugby by Jonathan ‘Jiffy’ Davies on the Jonathan X podcast.
The former lock admitted he “feels for the players” who are caught up in the current situation, with the uncertainty created for them and their families “the most frustrating thing” in his opinion. However, while he does not agree with everything that has happened, he said he had to “give credit” to some of those making the big decisions for addressing the need for change.
“It’s easy to put everything down to money,” said Jones. “I think we’ve been a bit candid with some of the stuff we’ve said. It’s inevitable that there was going to be a change. The shape, the how, the what and what form is important.
“Having been through something similar in 2019 with the merger, just before the Scotland game and the Grand Slam, I just feel for the players. Needless to say, I don’t necessarily agree with everything or moreover probably how some of it has been done, but you’ve got to give credit to some of the decision makers.
“They’ve taken the leap and there’s always going to be pushback,” he added. “The fact that we’re two years down the line and we’ve got to wait another 18 months, two years is is probably the most frustrating thing for me because players have got families and careers to try and map out. Yes, it’s professional sport and it’s cutthroat, but there is another side to that, if we want to develop the game we’ve got to develop that.”
While Jiffy admitted there are “more questions that need to be answered”, he added that the current situation had highlighted the importance of funding development, coaches and age group rugby, which he said is “the future for Welsh rugby”.
In response, Jones said: “Yeah, again, that’s my frustrating thing. Two years down the line, there’s going to be some professional entities, however the shape of those look like at the end of this. But I would have liked to see more prevalence put on the pathway.
“As I said earlier, I did the scholarship professional rugby sort of thing at Hartpury and Exeter have been doing it for a long, long time, for 20 years. I don’t necessarily think I was one of the first, it was around for other sports as well, so it’s not necessarily revolutionary – that’s how I came through,” he added.
“Even with the schoolboy stuff, if I’m honest, I’m not completely up to speed on all that, but a lot of my district and schoolboy coaches were teachers. So there was almost an indirect link or eyes on people playing the game through those means. I don’t know how prevalent that is now.
“There needs to be answers,” the 40-year-old concluded, “Not everyone’s going to be happy with the answers and I just think the danger of wasting time just sort of pushes the issues along. Hopefully I’ll be really pleased to be completely wrong and you know this is for the betterment of everything and everyone.
Later in the episode, Jiffy quizzed Jones on whether he would ever consider moving into coaching, leading the former Wales captain to suggest that any future job he would have in rugby would be more likely to be “in a suit rather than a tracksuit”.
“I always said never when I played,” he admitted. “But I think never say never. But I don’t know, it’s an interesting one. I think what I’ve learnt is you can have more of an influence on the game now in a suit rather than a tracksuit.
“That’s not to be barbed at anyone involved in the game in Wales at the minute, but I think the game globally has a lot of challenges. Whether I’m the right fit or whether I’ve got the experience or understanding to put my shoulder to the wheel is another thing, but I think that’s what I’ve learnt, particularly towards the end of my career and in the last few years.”
Jones’ comments come as the WRU is advertising for a new technical director to shape the future of the game in Wales. The role, which comes with a salary of up to £160,000 a year, will report directly to Reddin, with the union hoping for someone who has played the game at elite level, has knowledge of the Welsh rugby system and is a Welsh speaker to fill the role.
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