A TOUR LIK E NO OTHER

A TALE OF two faces. The smile on Siya Kolisi’s was as wide as on 2 November 2019, the South Africa captain’s roar as he lifted the series trophy matching that of 21 months previously when he held aloft the Webb Ellis Cup.

Yet for Alun Wyn Jones, the rawness of the three-point defeat in the deciding Test was etched on his face. He may have been speaking to the media via Zoom but the red-rimmed eyes left you in no doubt as to how he was feeling.

“I’ve already had a bit of stick for being overly emotional, but I don’t give a f*** if people think I’m over emotional, that’s what it means to me,” says Jones, acknowledging that he will not pull on the famed British & Irish Lions jersey again. “It’s been a special tour and to get so close and fall short hurts more than if it was a bigger loss.”

12 Successive Lions Tests played by Alun Wyn Jones, making him the joint-third most-capped Lion ever

Unlike in 2009, there will be no second chance for him to win a series in South Africa