WALES legend Ryan Jones hailed Warren Gatland – but said the Red Dragons must now ’embrace’ their underdog status.
Former Wales manager Warren Gatland, who left the top job earlier this month after 14 STRAIGHT DEFEATS, gave Jones the captaincy upon his arrival.
The 43-year-old star, who played as a blindside flanker, number 8 and second row during his decorated international career, said he will be “forever indebted” to the Kiwi.
He is one of just a handful of internationals to have won three Grand Slams for Wales, in a list including the legendary Alun Wyn Jones.
But Wales at present are a long way off the heights they experienced as recently as 2021.
This weekend they take on Six Nations favourites Ireland, who are looking for a second Grand Slam in three years.
Wales must ‘score lots of points’
Ireland go into the Principality as favourites, but Jones thinks Wales underdog status is “something to embrace not be afraid of.”
“It’s an inexperienced side rather than a young one, and experience comes in a lot of different ways,” Jones, who will be streaming for Vodafone at the match this weekend, exclusively told SunSport.
He added: “When you arrive at the Principality and turn right to go down the bridge with the fans around you, the boys need to embrace that.
“Going into Six Nations with the weight of a nation on your shoulders is a tough place to live.
“We need to score lots of points, and spend time around Ireland’s 22, like we saw England do in the first game.”
The three time capped British & Irish Lion said: “[Wales] need to get momentum, and keep momentum, it’s really important now.
“You need a good front five and value all round the park.
“This current team hasn’t experienced the heights we felt, there are players in that team who have experienced 14 losses on the bounce.
“We need to put Ireland under some real sustained pressure.”
Warren Gatland’s first spell as Wales Head Coach came during Jones’ playing career, with Gatland taking charge between 2007-2019.
Jones was made Wales captain in 2008, leading the side to a Grand Slam.
He said: “I will be indebted to Warren for the opportunity he gave to me.
“Gats’ legacy will live on.”
However, Gatland’s second spell as Wales manager came to and end at the midway point of this tournament, with Jones saying: “I can’t think of another time when a coach has been relieved mid-campaign.
“I’m not sure what is going on day to day, but it’s unusual.
“Lots is going on, it’s very difficult to be on the outside.
“Mid campaign it’s very difficult to change significantly, as its difficult to change during the campaign.
“But, it’s pro sport, to go on a winless run like we did makes it difficult.”
Matt Sherratt will step into the role of Head Coach until the end of the Six Nations in the place of Gatland.
“It will be interesting to see what he picks on the weekend, what sort of age profile he goes for,” Jones said.
“You’ve got to have a blend of experience, age and momentum. You can be young and still be experienced.”
Ryan Jones on the British & Lions tour
Jones was a British & Irish Lion in 2005, but insists “different people look at it in different ways.
“Lions is a very personal accolade, it is recognition that you are in the top 40-50-60 rugby players inside the UK.”
The Six Nations is obviously a good place to showcase your skills to be Lions Head Coach, in this case Andy Farrell, but Jones said: “in the Six Nations, we want to do a good job for Wales.
“Focus is solely on that.
“If everyone around you is thriving, then you all look better.”
While the Lions tour was an honour for Jones, he seemed to prefer focusing on his Welsh career, saying: “the Lions tour is such a short period of time.
“You want to be confident going into the Lions, but there is lots of rugby to be played between now and then.”
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Rugby legends Ryan Jones and Rob Henderson are set to host a social media watch-along live during the Wales vs Ireland Guinness Six Nations match.
This will be at the Principality Stadium, enabled by network slicing on Vodafone’s 5G Standalone (5G SA) network.
In what is a UK first, the Instagram livestream hosted on Ryan Jones’ account will showcase the power of network slicing in a stadium environment.
The technology on show is part of a Vodafone trial to demonstrate the use of multiple 5G SA network slices being used concurrently for different purposes during a live event.
