Alun Wyn Jones: I thought I was just getting old – turns out I had a heart condition Exclusive: Wales and Lions legend hero reveals his atrial fibrillation diagnosis and the signs that were there as his career drew to a close Gavin Mairs, CHIEF RUGBY UNION CORRESPONDENT21 December 2023 • 6:56pm please log in to view this image Alun Wyn Jones is feeding his eight-month-old daughter Loti in the kitchen of his home in Swansea. Moments later he lifts the youngest of his three daughters onto his knee as she playfully grapples with his face, as his wife Anwen looks on. Dressed all in black, the most capped player in the history of rugby union retains a formidable physique, yet this is a scene of domestic bliss, far removed from his public image as an indefatigable warrior who won 158 caps for Wales and 12 for the British and Irish Lions across four tours. Four weeks into his retirement, the 38-year-old’s thoughts are already turning to the next phase of his life. Yet before he moves on, he needs to look back. For one last time. His glittering international career saw him win five Six Nations titles, including three Grand Slams. The Ospreys lock also played in four World Cups, twice reaching the semi-final. In 2021 Jones appeared to defy medical logic by recovering from a dislocated shoulder sustained in the Lions warm-up match against Japan to return and captain Warren Gatland’s side in the Test series against South Africa. He also captained the Lions in their series-clinching third Test victory over Australia in 2013. please log in to view this image Jones defied medical logic to not only make the Lions series against South Africa, but to captain the Test team in their three contests against the Springboks CREDIT: PA/Steve Haag Yet the final battle now appears to be coming to terms with how it all came to an end. Jones announced his international retirement in May this year, despite initially being named in the Wales preliminary squad for the World Cup in France. He has kept his counsel until now but the finest player to wear the Welsh jersey in the professional era wants, for his own future and well-being, to share his final chapter. Advertisement “I haven’t done an interview like this for a long time, and this will be the last one I do like this,” says Jones, who made his Test debut in Argentina in 2006. “But I need to share my perspective so that myself and my family can move forward. Ever since I retired from international rugby, everyone has been asking me questions, and those questions are becoming more difficult to answer as time goes on.” Jones walks across his kitchen and picks up a small box, pushing out what looks like a small silver bluetooth speaker. It is in fact a personal ECG device to monitor his heart rhythm. “I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation,” he says. “It was discovered when I underwent a full medical check, which included an ECG test, when I joined Toulon in July on a short-term contract as cover during the World Cup. “The cardiac doctor picked it up straight away. My heartbeat was like a galloping horse with six legs. It was all over the shop. “The things that bring it on for someone my age is likely to be cardiovascular exercise and stress, it occurs in sports like rowing and endurance sports, but it was a shock because throughout my career I have always prided myself on my fitness. I have always been so committed to doing extras after matches, constantly working on my fitness and recovery from injuries.” please log in to view this image Jones wants to share his my perspective so that he and his family can move forward CREDIT: Athena Pictures /Dimitris Legakis Jones flew back to London the following day to see a consultant who reassured him that the risk to his health was low but because his heart rate was elevated constantly, it would be important to undergo a procedure once his contract expired with Toulon in November to prevent long-term complications. “We acted on medical advice from a rugby point of view,” he added. “There was a risk, but I was prepared to play for Toulon. Anwen and I had a conversation as husband and wife and I said: ‘I have come this far, if I drop, at least I will be doing something I love’. “It might seem a selfish decision given that I have three young daughters, but I needed to take the opportunity. It was only going to be for four months, and it gave me an opportunity to experience and get perspective on my career and life.” Accepting the Toulon contract despite his condition was important for Jones for two reasons. His contract with the Welsh Rugby Union was to expire in November and his ‘old school’ attitude was such that he had always intended to honour that. The cameo in Toulon, including captaining the side on his final appearance – a victory at Clermont Auvergne four weeks ago which earned him a standing ovation – allowed him to meet that target date to end his 19-year career. Yet more significantly was to provide him with one last meaningful rugby adventure, given the manner in which his international career had come to end. ‘I started to think ‘is this my time?’’ At the diagnosis of his heart condition, he was told it was likely he had first developed it between a year to 18 months earlier, the period in his Test career when, for the first time he was told that his “numbers” – the fitness data captured during matches and in training – were dropping. He could not help but wonder now if that decline had been caused by the underlying health condition, not the general expectation that age had finally caught up with the great warrior. Looking back, hindsight is a wonderful thing, but signs and possibly symptoms started in early 2022, when, following a five-month layoff with two shoulder operations, he achieved his 150th cap for Wales against Italy. please log in to view this image Jones played 158 times for Wales, a world record, and turned out for the British and Irish Lions in 12 Tests CREDIT: PA/Joe Giddens He started to notice a decline in his conditioning and fitness, despite doing everything to meet his rehabilitation plan. At the time he put it down to his absence from Test rugby, but he was relegated to the bench for the three Tests on the tour of South Africa that summer. “After every session and every game, I did extras because I wanted to be involved,” he added. “I even did extras after the last game of the summer tour because I was trying to prove a point. But now it works out why I was feeling fatigued. I can remember getting the odd heart palpitation, but didn’t think anything of it as I was used to pushing my body. Advertisement “It was similar during the autumn of 2022. I remember doing a ‘Bronco’ (an intense rugby cardio fitness test) for the first time in a couple of years and my time to complete the test was significantly worse than previous. Now I wonder if that was because I was only able to operate at 75 per cent capacity. I’m grateful to the strength and conditioning team that persevered with me through this and still believed in me. “You always hear about players whose legs have gone when they get to the end of their careers. I started to think: ‘Is this my time?’. Conversations with the head coach at the time were frequent about my future.” ‘They tried to do the right thing’ He admits it left him in a dark place for him and tough for his family too, and the recall to the starting XV only after the humiliation of Wales’ defeat by Georgia was hardly a ringing endorsement. Warren Gatland’s return as head coach in January following Wayne Pivac’s dismissal led to one final twist. The pair had a frank discussion at the start of the Six Nations campaign in which the head coach told him he would be looking to bring through new second rows, which was always going to be the case at some point. Advertisement Jones said that was fine, but he was contracted to November and was desperate to do whatever it took to make the World Cup squad. “I was grateful for that conversation,” Jones added. Jones started the defeats by Ireland and England, but the final round loss to France in Paris, when he was withdrawn after 47 minutes, proved to be definitive. “I knew what Gats’ expectations were,” he admitted. Jones was still named in Wales’ preliminary World Cup training squad on May 1 but says the following day he was visited by Gatland and forwards coach Jonathan Humphrys. “I knew what was coming,” he added. “They said my numbers were down. “They wanted to do the right thing by naming me in the squad and then allowing me to retire on my terms. I understood why they were doing it that way, they tried to do the right thing, but I just wish they had told me earlier. I would have done everything in my power to put myself in contention to be selected for the World Cup. Now I know that because of my condition it is unlikely to have made any difference anyway.” please log in to view this image Jones knew what was coming when Warren Gatland and Jonathan Humphrys came to visit him in early May CREDIT: AFP/Charly Triballeau Jones is grateful for an outstanding career and everyone who has helped and supported him along the way, including those who delivered his final verdict. Surgery four weeks ago has addressed his condition. He just hopes that his experience over the past two years, serves as a warning that will bring in more regular heart screening for players in Wales. “There is a lot of talk about welfare in rugby at the minute, but does that cover everything?” he added. “Is it just things that we can afford? Surely the sport has come on to the point where players should be screened more often, especially at a time when the demands in the game are growing. I was very lucky how it worked out and will forever be grateful to Toulon for signing me, had they not offered me a contract, I may never have known about the heart condition. “The impact on my life that those four months in Toulon were as important for me as anything I had done before from a physiological and mental point of view. It gave me a wake-up call. “Sometimes I forget what age I am because I have trained and played at the top level for so long. I have never really seen myself other than a rugby player. Now I get to be a full-time family man.”
The appointed match officials for our upcoming 6 Nations matches: Scotland Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (NZR) Assistant Referee 1: James Doleman (NZR) Assistant Referee 2: Angus Mabey (NZR) TMO: Brendon Pickerill (NZR) England Referee: James Doleman (NZR) Assistant Referee 1: Ben O'Keeffe (NZR) Assistant Referee 2: Hollie Davidson (SRU) TMO: Brendon Pickerill (NZR) Ireland Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR) Assistant Referee 1: Karl Dickson (RFU) Assistant Referee 2: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR) TMO: Eric Gauzins (FFR) France Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU) Assistant Referee 1: Andrew Brace (IRFU) Assistant Referee 2: Damian Schneider (UAR) TMO: Ian Tempest (RFU) Italy Referee: Mathieu Raynal (FFR) Assistant Referee 1: Chris Busby (IRFU) Assistant Referee 2: Morné Ferreira (SARU) TMO: Joy Neville (IRFU)
https://www.ospreysrugby.com/news/ospreys-announce-lance-bradley-new-chief-executive-officer Looks like an interesting appointment!
Just read this...is it old news?.... https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/welsh-region-plan-leave-stadium-28436805
It’s been spoken of for years - at least 7 to my direct/first hand knowledge. However, the new owners seem more open to playing ‘anywhere’ - like a US American Football franchise. There was talk previously of the Uni developing an 8,000 seater in Ashleigh Road where the ospreys could play. There were fewer than 2,000 at the stadium when they played Benetton in the Challenge Cup recently..,.. The Liberty Stadium is far too big a venue ….
Taff.... What crowds do The Whites get? Talking bout the Ospreys/Whites in The Plough this afternoon and it seems fans would rather support The Whites.
Welsh region plan to leave stadium as new boss makes it 'number one priority' - Wales Online New Ospreys chief executive admits region are looking to leave Swansea.com stadium - BBC Sport “The Swansea.com stadium is fantastic, but it’s simply too big for us. The fans who attended Friday’s entertaining win over Perpignan created as good an atmosphere as they could, but 4,000 fans in a 20,000 seat stadium is always going to be a challenge. We need to get back to the days of playing in front of a packed house, with an incredible atmosphere that our players and fans love, and that the opposition don’t fancy at all. You’ve shown in recent games, for example the win over Cardiff, that this is entirely possible. We’re very keen to hear your thoughts on where our new home should be. For that reason we’ll be hosting an event before our game against Ulster on Sunday February 18th where I will talk to you about the options as we see them, and listen to your thoughts and ideas. We will publish full details of the event nearer the time, but you can buy your match ticket so that your voice can be heard here. The criteria we will be using to decide where we go will include: the thoughts of our fans from across the whole area ability to create a great atmosphere transport links/parking costs to develop the stadium, including the pitch, fan zones, conferencing, hospitality etc flexibility to increase capacity as demand dictates sustainability/environmental impact opportunities for commercial revenue, including on non-match days You’ve all seen press speculation about where we might be going, and I've seen a number of people suggesting that a decision has already been made. I can assure you that that is not the case. There are a number of options, and we will be exploring them all thoroughly, as well as listening to your thoughts, before we make a decision. I look forward to seeing you on February 18th. Best wishes, Lance Chief Executive Officer”
Louis Rees-Zammit: Wales coach Warren Gatland unsure if 'freak' wing will break into NFL What a shame, rugby's loss.
It's highly unlikely he's doing it for the love of the game but for fame and fortune. Good luck to him anyway.
So the Six Nations kicks off tonight with a cracker - France v Ireland. I can see a home win but you never know, Ireland will be very solid. Or should be. As for Wales... can't say I'm too excited for our prospects but at least we've got a bit of grit back. I'll enjoy the tournament anyway, always do.
Excellent performance from Ireland - yes, France were down to 14, but Ireland I feel would have won even if the French were fully loaded
