Wales’s Alun Wyn Jones retires from international rugby with record 170 caps

Alun Wyn Jones, the former Wales and British & Irish Lions captain and the world’s most capped ever player, has announced his international retirement, drawing an end to one of the most storied Test careers in the sport’s history.

Jones announced his decision on Friday, stating that, at 37 and with 170 international caps to his name, he was “stepping away”. With the flanker Justin Tipuric also announcing his international retirement, Warren Gatland has been dealt a huge double blow before Wales’s World Cup campaign.

Both players had been named this month in Gatland’s preliminary 54-man squad for the World Cup but have now ruled themselves out of contention for the tournament in France this year. Between them they have 251 caps for Wales but will not add to those won during a dismal Six Nations campaign that featured the threat of strike action for the England fixture.

Jones, who made his Test debut in Argentina in 2006, will go down as the finest player to wear the Welsh jersey in the professional era, having attended four World Cups, won five Six Nations titles and three grand slams. His durability for Wales has been nothing short of remarkable, racking up an astonishing sequence of 23 consecutive starts against England.

For the Lions he was equally totemic. He made 12 Test appearances and 10 starts across four tours – his first and last coming against South Africa. Two years ago he suffered a dislocated shoulder in a warmup match against Japan but made a scarcely believable recovery to captain the tourists in all three Tests against the Springboks. Though that series ended in defeat, Jones had the honour of captaining the Lions to victory in the 2013 series decider against Australia.

“Having been selected in this