Alun Wyn Jones has agreed a short-term contract with Toulon, in a ‘medical joker’ role. The legendary Welsh lock will provide the French club with cover, as the squad is depleted during the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
The 2023/24 Top 14 season will commence in August, with Alun Wyn Jones assisting Toulon with the absence of their international stars at their national team training camps.
Toulon Director of Rugby Pierre Mignoni said to BBC Sport: “We are delighted and honoured to welcome a legendary player like Alun Wyn Jones to Toulon. His career demonstrates his immense talent.”
He added: “His experience, his mental and physical strength as well as his leadership will add to the locker room and to his team-mates.”
Alun Wyn Jones will leave the Ospreys having been at the club since 2005. He becomes the latest high-profile Welsh name to leave the country, following on from his shock international retirement, and self-withdrawal from Warren Gatland’s Rugby World Cup training squad in May.
The lock retired as the most capped international player of all time, having made 158 test match appearances for his country, and a further 12 test caps for the British and Irish Lions, across four tours. The former Wales captain will join his fellow countryman Dan Biggar in Toulon, as preparations commence for the upcoming Top 14 season.
Toulon had an impressive showing throughout the 2022/23 campaign, ending the season as EPCR Challenge Cup Winners. Toulon put Glasgow Warriors to the sword in the final, with a monumental 43-19 victory, including a retirement match try by Italian great Sergio Parrise.
Jones reveals new business with retirement fast approaching
Wales looks to Alun Wyn Jones for inspiration as they aim to reclaim glory under Warren Gatland in the 2023 Six Nations.
The 37-year-old, who participated in his 17th Six Nations earlier this year, has established a new business venture as he nears the end of his career.
Jones’ off-the-field move into the drinks industry has seen him create a coffee-infused rum named Mimosa.
The brand celebrates the pioneering spirit of the Welsh people who embarked on a life-changing voyage to Patagonia in Argentina in the 19th century.
That voyage began in 1865 when a ship named the Mimosa set sail from Liverpool with 153 passengers on board who dreamed of establishing Welsh-speaking communities in Patagonia.
George North give it a tremendous review, saying: “It tastes 😍”
Alun Wyn Jones facts:
- He is the first player in the professional era to have played in nine consecutive Tests for the Lions having been involved in all three series
- Alun Wyn Jones has a law degree from Swansea University and he graduated in 2010
- nothing. Second rows wearing white rugby boots was quite unusual. That’s how he got the nickname Alun Gwyn Boots
- His father, Tim Jones, was a respected solicitor who also played rugby for Swansea, and his funeral in 2016 drew hundreds from the legal and rugby worlds. One of life’s true characters.
- Wife of the Lions captain and mum to their two daughters Mali and Efa, Anwen, who is a doctor of physiology, is a Welsh-speaking physiology lecturer at Cardiff’s Metropolitan University.
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Stuart Hogg
After confirming his retirement, Hogg said in a statement: “A new career beckons and I will attack in the same manner as I play the game.”
The Scotland legend has revealed he isn’t too keen on coaching, but will remain in the game as a pundit after making his debut on BBC during the 2023 Six Nations.
PUNDITRY:
Sources tell RUCK that BT Sport (soon to be TNT Sports) are keen. to recruit the fullback as a key part of their 2023/24 Premiership coverage.
RESTAURANT OWNER:
He is the co-owner of steak house Finsbay Flatiron in Glasgow.
The focus for Finsbay Flatiron is steak, specialising in 8oz flat irons (as the name suggests) and steaks from £8 on weekdays and £10 on weekends, as well as sides like mac and cheese and triple cooked chips.
DISTILLERY:
He’s a director of a distillery named Maiden Batch.
Caulker’s is a collaborative effort between five Glasgow men, two of whom happen to be British Lions and Scotland rugby internationals, Hogg and Alastair Kellock. The bottle is signed by all five.
Jack Nowell
The England and Exeter Chiefs winger is the co-owner of The Swordfish Inn back in his hometown of Cornwall.
Sitting on the harbourfront, the pub has been a favourite of local fishermen, artists and visitors alike for as long as anyone cares to remember and is well-known for its rugged charm and atmosphere.
He is also a director of MUSTARD Clothing.
