“I was absolutely over the moon when I got confirmation that I was on the plane,” he said.
“It’s something that I have always dreamed of doing and I’m so looking forward to it.
“It was such a great day finding out and I can’t stress enough how important and special this is to me and my family.”
While the nation was glued to the squad announcement on Monday lunchtime, the Ospreys back row couldn’t face being sat at home waiting for the news and found out he was heading to New Zealand from a text from his dad.
“I had a day out on Monday, I went and had lunch with my wife in Monmouth,” he added.
“It was more escapism for me, to be honest. I didn’t watch the telly or listen to it. I waited for my dad to text to say if I was in or not, so we could have ended up commiserating instead of celebrating.
Jones will depart for New Zealand with the rest of the squad on Wednesday August 31st and he is looking forward to returning to Land of the Long White Cloud.
“Everyone speaks so fondly of it and New Zealand is a fantastic place to go and play,” he said.
“They have had some tough times out there with the recent natural disasters, but there will be such a warm reception.
“Rugby is such a special sport and we want to give something back to them and hopefully the public will embrace it.”
