Six Nations 2025: Adam Jones aims to help lift Warren Gatland's Wales in new coaching role

Adam Jones might just be the right person to lift the spirits of the Welsh rugby team. The much-loved Welsh rugby legend has joined Warren Gatland's coaching staff as a collision consultant for the Six Nations Championship. Their first match is a daunting challenge away to France on Friday night.

Former Wales prop Jones was given the go-ahead by his English club, Harlequins, to officially join Gatland’s team on Monday. Given that Wales are on a record 12-match losing streak, any new voice, especially one like Jones, is likely to be welcome. Jones stated, “It’s a bit like the first day back at school, I don’t know a lot of the players, I’ve only seen them on the TV. I’ve played with a few and against a few. I also played with one of their fathers (Hywel, father of Dafydd Jenkins) which makes me feel a bit old.”

Recently, the atmosphere at Wales’ press conferences has been tense, but Jones's arrival has brought a welcome light to what could be another turbulent season. Jones is not only humorous but also possesses solid expertise. He earned 95 international caps for Wales, enjoyed an 11-year career, won four Six Nations titles, three Grand Slams, and participated in three World Cups. He also took part in five British and Irish Lions test matches in South Africa in 2009 and Australia in 2013. As a rugby and sports expert, Jones, upon his return to the Welsh media, also mentioned his record of answering 18 consecutive questions correctly on the BBC quiz show “A Question of Sport,” an achievement even included in the autobiography of host Sue Barker.

Jones also explained how his return to the Wales national team came about. “The management contacted me to see if I would be willing to come in and help,” said Jones, “With Humphs (Wales forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys) looking after the breakdown, the lineout and the collisions, it’s quite a big workload, so I was very honoured to be given the opportunity.” Jones stated that he was encouraged by his first impressions. “I can see everyone is working very hard and they are desperate to win,” he added, “You can see the lads are hurting, which is natural. You can’t ask for more if the boys are willing to work. I’m sure the whole nation will get behind them, hopefully, we can get off to a good start.”

Jones said that it was hard for him to see Wales struggling while he was in England. “I’m a proud Welshman,” he said, “It’s been hard to see what has been going on over the last few years but the boys and the coaches are trying to put things right.” Jones spent the majority of his playing career at the Ospreys in Wales before playing one season at Cardiff. In 2015, he joined Harlequins as a player-coach and retired in 2018. The 43-year-old immediately became a permanent member of the Harlequins coaching team, helping England forwards Joe Marler, Finn Baxter, and Kyle Sinckler. So what does Jones think he can bring to the Wales team? “I think, a different voice,” he said, “I’ve been lucky enough to work with a lot of good coaches in the last nine years. The way they do things is different from what I was used to. I’ve changed a lot since coming to England, I’ve become a lot more outgoing.”

Jones’s role with Wales is temporary, and he will return to Harlequins after the Six Nations Championship. However, he stated that working with the national team on a long-term basis is his aspiration. “When the opportunity came up I was very keen to take it, and Harlequins were very supportive,” said Jones, “Coaching at test level is something I cherish. I’m looking forward to doing this job until the end of the Six Nations. I’ll focus on these eight weeks and then go back to Harlequins.” It has been 11 years since Jones last participated in an international match, which ended his test career in a somewhat controversial manner. Gatland substituted Jones after only 30 minutes in his 100th and final international match. Jones was not pleased at the time and wrote about the experience in his later autobiography. He insists that any issues are in the past. “We’ve buried the hatchet,” said Jones, “Things got a bit twisted when I retired. Anyone who finishes their career will be frustrated. Everything he (Gatland) did for me as a player was massive, I worked with him for ten years. If he hadn’t come in and pushed me in the right direction at that time, I wouldn’t have got 95 Wales caps, won Grand Slams, or gone on Lions tours. He had a way of doing things that got me to that level and I’m forever grateful for that, so I’m more than happy to work for him because he had such a big impact on my career.”

Gatland is facing immense pressure, despite Wales suffering their worst losing streak, he has been given a vote of confidence for the Six Nations. “For someone with his experience, he’s calm and knows what he wants,” said Jones, “When I was a player, he was best at that backs-to-the-wall narrative. Gatland is very good at creating the underdog mentality, bringing the team together in a short space of time, and getting results. He’s very good at that, and I’m backing him to turn it around.” Jones said that no one is giving Wales a chance in France. “The whole country and the rugby world thinks we are going to get battered in France,” said Jones, “We want to go there, test them as much as we can, and quieten the crowd. That’s key. It sounds a bit like what Oliver Reed said to Russell Crowe in Gladiator. If we can quieten the crowd, that’s half the battle. As long as we give it our all, put in 100%, because we are wearing the jersey representing our country, things will happen.”

Jones has only a few training sessions to help Wales with their collisions against a powerful French team. “They have a saying in France, ‘no collisions, no victory’,” said Jones, “We have to go there with a plan. We want to challenge them and not give them anything. If they are getting the other team going backwards in the collisions or the scrums, they get on top. They feed off that energy. It’s vital we don’t give them that opportunity.”