International Career
He made his international debut for Wales against South Africa in November 2004. He featured in Wales' 2005 Grand Slam-winning side.
Many supporters were surprised when he was not initially selected for the 44-man squad for the Lions tour of New Zealand. He was later called up to cover for the injured Simon Taylor. After his performance in the 30–19 win over Otago he was selected for the squad for the first test. He came on as a replacement and went on to start in the final two tests.
In January 2008, Jones was appointed captain of Wales by new coach Warren Gatland. In his first Six Nations tournament as captain, he led his team to a second Grand Slam in four years.
In April 2009, Jones was omitted from the 2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa. He was subsequently called up to join the squad on 9 June after Stephen Ferris pulled out with a knee injury, however within days of arriving in South Africa he was declared unfit by the Lions medical team due to head injuries he had sustained in a previous Wales test match.
He was named captain of the Welsh team for the Autumn internationals in 2009, when the side faced New Zealand, Samoa, Argentina and Australia. Jones equalled Ieuan Evans record of 28 appearances as captain of Wales against Scotland on 12 February 2012.
Read more about this topic: Ryan Jones
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—Margaret S. Mahler (1897–1985)