A former Welsh captain, double Grand Slam champion and British Lion – the one accolade missing from the Ryan Jones CV is to play in a World Cup.
Four years ago a shoulder injury ruled Jones out of Wales’ dismal campaign, but having recovered from the loss of the captaincy last season, the 30-year-old was one of the shining lights in Wales’ disappointing RBS 6 Nations.
And with just a month before Wales’ final squad is announced, Jones is desperate to be part of Warren Gatland’s team as they look to banish the memories of Fiji in Nantes last time out.
Despite the emergence of Toby Faletau and Justin Tipuric, Jones still feels he has a lot to offer his Kiwi coach.
“I would dearly love to be there,” said Jones
“I know New Zealand is a great place to play rugby. I’ve toured there with the Lions and going there with Wales last year was a great experience and going there for the World Cup would have to be the ultimate for any rugby player.
“A World Cup would be a new thing for me and it’s something every international rugby player wants to experience.
“It’s one of the boxes that I’ve yet to tick and I’m going to do everything in my power, personally, to try to make sure I’m there. But we have three tough matches first before we go out there.”
“We have a squad overflowing with good youngsters at the moment they are all good athletes and they have all hit form at the right time for the rugby World Cup.
“The likes of Toby Faletau and Justin Tipuric are keeping us all looking over our shoulders and I’m looking forward to seeing how they do at international level.”
