Rugby: Welsh prop out to make point to Hansen

Wales prop Adam Jones. Photo / Getty Images

World class Welsh prop Adam Jones would love nothing more than to prove a point to the man with whom he shares a love-hate relationship - All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen.

Quietly spoken and not short with a quip, Jones develops a more steely persona when quizzed about the man who introduced him to test rugby in 2003.

Then the Welsh coach, Hansen handed the hirsuite Jones a debut in that year's Six Nations and started him during the subsequent World Cup.

However, the tough tighthead from Abercrave was routinely hooked before halftime through that tournament, a memory that still grates.

"Obviously I can't say what I actually think about him (Hansen) on the recorder," Jones told reporters.

"He used to take me off after half an hour. That used to wreck me. I suppose it helped me in the long run, I became a bit more thick-skinned.

"He's obviously a good coach, he did well for us and to be fair, the (Six Nations) Grand Slam we won in 2005, a lot of it was down to him. He put the foundation in place."

Jones, 29, was a cornerstone of that 2005 squad and has steadily risen to be among the world's premier tightheads, something which Hansen recently commented on.

"I can't believe it," a smiling Jones said of the unexpected compliment.

"I don't know if I'm one of the best around but obviously I want to prove him wrong."

The 64-test veteran, a 2009 tourist with the British and Irish Lions, will carry a heavy load in the first All Blacks test in Dunedin on Saturday, followed by the second in Hamilton a week later.

He is missing long-time propping partner Duncan Jones - the Ospreys and Wales bookends best known as the "hair bears" - while veteran loosehead Gethin Jenkins was also ruled out of this tour with injury.

Jones is unsure if he will pack down against Owen and Ben Franks, who impressed for the All Blacks in their first test together, the 66-28 defeat of Ireland in New Plymouth on Saturday.

He wouldn't be surprised if one or both of veterans Tony Woodcock and Neemia Tialata were recalled at Carisbrook but long sessions of video analysis had him braced to pack down against the young Crusaders siblings.

Owen Franks, in particular, was a player for the future, Jones believed.

"He's got a flat back, a very good player. I think (Carl) Hayman can enjoy his time in France now," Jones said.

"He seems to be the solution at tighthead and they're looking to get the other fella (Ben) putting pressure on Woodcock."

Jones said the influence of All Blacks scrum coach Mike Cron was obvious, with Cron's stint as Wales scrum coach under Hansen having left an enduring mark.

"He's very technical, Mike. In the space of six weeks, he brought me on so much as a scrummager. It was invaluable for me," Jones said.

"When he took the All Blacks in 2004, they probably weren't the best scrum in the world. Then he took them to be by far the most dominant scrum in the world over those next four years."

- NZPA