Alun Wyn Jones will return to South Africa a full 12 years after playing his part in a titanic battle with the Springboks for The British & Irish Lions in 2009, this time as captain.
Since making his debut in 2006, he has won three Grand Slams, a further two Six Nations titles, and is now preparing to go on his fourth Lions Tour.
Here are five things you might not have known about Lions skipper Alun Wyn Jones...
Alun Wyn Jones facts
#1. Lions history
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.
With 157 caps to his name, of which 148 have come for Wales and nine for the Lions, he is also the most capped player in the history of international rugby.
With 157 caps to his name, of which 148 have come for Wales and nine for the Lions, he is also the most capped player in the history of international rugby.
#2. Brainbox
Alun Wyn Jones has a law degree from Swansea University and he graduated in 2010.
#3. Rugby Nickname
In his youth, apart from having long hair, he had a pair of white rugby boots on, at a time when it was black or nothing. Second rows wearing white rugby boots was quite unusual. That’s how he got the nickname Alun Gwyn Boots.
#4. Rugby playing Dad
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..
#5. Personal life
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.
