Born in Swansea, Jones played his first rugby for Bonymaen RFC. Having previously represented Wales at under-21 level, he made his test debut for Wales in June 2006 against Argentina. Originally playing as a blindside flanker, he became a lock. It was as a lock that he featured, and excelled, in Wales' 2007 Six Nations campaign. He was a member of the Wales side that completed the Grand Slam in the 2008 Six Nations. In March 2009 Jones captained Wales against Italy in the Six Nations, becoming the 126th player to be captain of the country. In 2009 Jones was one of 13 Welsh players selected in the squad for the British & Irish Lionstour to South Africa. He scored a try in his debut for the Lions against the Royal XV. He started the first test and came on as a replacement in the second and third tests. On 18 January 2010, he was named in the 35-man Wales squad for the 2010 Six Nations tournament. During the first 2010 Six Nations game against England, Jones tripped English player Dylan Hartley, for which he was sent to the sin-bin. During his 10 minutes there, England scored 17 points and went on to victory. Jones studied part-time for a degree in law at Swansea University, graduating on 21 July 2010. On 23 August 2010, the Ospreys announced that Jones would succeed Welsh teammate Ryan Jones as club captain for the 2010–11 season. The decision was made, in part, so Ryan Jones could concentrate on the national captaincy during a busy World Cup year. On 30 April 2013, Jones was selected for the Lions' tour to Australia. Due to Sam Warburton's tour-ending injury in the second test, Jones was selected as captain for the deciding third test in Sydney, which the Lions won 41–16. This made him the first substitute captain to lead the Lions to victory in the final test of a series since 1904. 2014 saw Jones captain Wales three times – once against Italy and twice against South Africa. In the 2014 Autumn Internationals, he scored a try in Wales's 28–33 loss to Australia. In the 2015 Six Nations, he formed a second row partnership with Luke Charteris and won two man-of-the-match awards during the tournament, earning them against Scotland and Italy. Jones made his 100th appearance when Wales faced South Africa in the quarter-finals of the 2015 Rugby World Cup but Wales were knocked out of the competition with South Africa winning 23–19 and going on to win third place. Jones took part in the 2016 Six Nations and was originally paired with Luke Charteris who was then replaced by Bradley Davies. Jones suffered an injury in the penultimate game against England in the tournament and was replaced with a returning Charteris. Jones returned to action on the 2016 tour to New Zealand, playing his 100th test for Wales in the first test against New Zealand – his 106th appearance. His 100th Welsh test ended in disappointment with New Zealand beating Wales 39–21, going on to win the series 3–0. He took part in the 2016 autumn internationals but had to miss the first match due to the death of his father, Tim. He returned to play Argentina in which he won man of the match award. On 8 December 2016, Jones broke the Ospreys' record for the highest try scoring forward as he touched down for his 21st try. Jones was named as captain for the Welsh squad for the 2017 Six Nations following Sam Warburton's demotion. Following the campaign, Jones was selected for his third British and Irish Lions tour. During the Lions tour he became one of only seven Lions players to have beaten South Africa, Australia and New Zealand while touring these countries, following the 24–21 win in the second test. Jones started in all three tests of the series against the All Blacks. In 2019 Jones captained Wales in their Grand Slam victory and was named Player of the Championship in a public vote organised by Guinness, the tournament's sponsor. Following the game, he was referred to by Jonathan Davies and others as "the greatest ever" Welsh rugby player. On 29 September 2019, in a game against Australia at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, he became Wales' most-capped player, overtaking the record of 129 caps held by Gethin Jenkins.
Personal life
Jones and his wife, Dr. Anwen Jones, have two daughters.
