Alun Wyn Jones wants to move on from Lions glory

Here is one driven rugby player and Jones’ fear is that by dwelling on the past, he will somehow dilute his thirst to scale more Everests in the future.

At 28, he is reaching his peak as an international second row. Physically mature, he now has the experience of 76 caps for Wales and the Lions to call upon. It is time to push on with Wales and for the Six Nations champions that means claiming the scalp of one of the big three from the southern hemisphere at last. It is five years since Wales did so.

Saturday brings the first of two chances this autumn – against South Africa at the Millennium Stadium.

It is the first time Wales have met the Springboks since the unfortunate 17-16 defeat in Wellington at the 2011 World Cup.

“We haven’t played South Africa for a long time and it would be dangerous to compare ourselves to them before we’ve done that, but these are the sort of games we need to measure ourselves,” said Jones.

“Confrontational rugby is in their culture. But they have speed in their back line to match their ferocity in the forwards too.”

Defence coach Shaun Edwards predicted earlier this week that it will be a game for connoisseurs of gladiatorial rugby. But where once this may have placed Wales at a disadvantage, the emphasis Warren Gatland has placed on bulking up his squad of ball players has re-balanced the equation.

“It hasn’t been a case of just getting everybody bigger, it has been making us more intense as a side. We’ve had training sessions that have been more intense than some matches,” explained Jones.

“A coach might select certain personnel to play a certain way, but you want to be able to do both. If you have a team that can be all-rounders, one that can play the speed game as well as the physical game, that’s the ideal. That is what Gats is trying to do here.”

Last autumn Jones damaged a shoulder so badly in the opening game of the series against Argentina that he ended up sidelined until February. It proved a good series to miss with Wales failing to win a match.

They have hurdles to overcome this year in the absence of the injured Jamie Roberts and Alex Cuthbert, but there are plenty of others in the squad with experience of beating a southern hemisphere in the summer. That knowledge is invaluable.

Jones may be tired of the L-word, but the Lions experience could be the making of Wales this autumn.

Alun Wyn Jones wants to move on from Lions glory