100
BEST PLAYERS
“HE PROVES
CONCLUSIVELY THAT
LEADERS ARE BORN”
One man stands head and shoulders above
to top our list of the world’s best players. Here
Stephen Jones pays tribute to Alun Wyn Jones
Words Stephen Jones// Picture Aled Llywelyn/Huw Evans Agency1
ALUN WYN
JONES
125
Age 33 (19 September 1985) Position LockO
NE OF the finest Grand
Slams, and also one of
the loudest and longest
post-Slam celebrations.
The Principality Stadium has become
patchy in terms of unity and volume of
support; there has been talk that the
place has been infiltrated by eventers,
scene-makers. There is nothing wrong
with this – rugby cannot exist if only
diehard rugby fans attend matches –
but surely only the diehards could
have produced the kind of thunderous
intensity that enveloped proceedings
after Wales won the third Grand Slam of
the Warren Gatland era back in March.
And in the greatest of all team sports,
surely no one objected for a second if
one member of the Wales team was
singled out post-match. ‘Green giants
reduced to rubble by grand master Alun
Wyn Jones,’ said The Sunday Times.
The tributes rumbled on, after Jones
had played and led spectacularly. The
great Jonathan Davies – the former not
current star – proclaimed Alun Wyn was
“the greatest-ever Welsh player”.
For anyone to be deemed greater than
Gareth Edwards, Mervyn Davies, Barry
John, Sam Warburton and Davies