Jones is excited to sample life under Wayne Pivac as he gets set to enter his 14th Six Nations.
“I want to be involved with Wales and it’s Wayne’s world now. I’m looking forward to what’s to come,” said the iconic 143-cap lock.
“The integration and opportunity Wayne has had to bring his management and settle in has been great. The Barbarians week was invaluable and we feel like we are a week ahead already. It is a change for everyone, but it is an exciting time to be part of a young and vibrant squad with a lot to prove. With the make-up of the group there are a lot of guys who have been involved over the last couple of years and guys who have come back from injury and back into contention.
“The make-up of the group isn’t just the players, it’s the management as well. As a captain it makes my job easier and I also get to learn a few more tricks. The energy is there and I’ve got to keep up with the young guys. If we are going to evolve our game there are probably a few more things to adapt to and that’s what you need to do.”
Pivac has succeeded Warren Gatland as Wales head coach with Stephen Jones, Jonathan Humphreys, Byron Hayward, Sam Warburton and Neil Jenkins working alongside him. Another former Wales player in Martyn Williams has joined as team manager.
Jones said: “We’ve got a wealth of ex internationals in our back-room staff. I played with Stephen, Martyn and Sam. It’s nice to have them within the environment and we all know Sam’s qualities as a player. I think as a coach his role is probably going to be two pronged.
“He’s going to help Byron on the defensive side of things and the tackle area, but also I think his role in mentoring will be important. We’ve got a lot of good back-rowers at the minute and that’s not just those named in the squad, but those at the regions as well.
“I think when you have so many that could be operating at a particular level you need someone to guide as many guys as you can to have that point of difference.
“That’s going to be invaluable for us because the competition is so vast in the back-row. To have someone like Sam to help these guys develop is going to be massive.”
Wales Women kick off their Six Nations campaign with a clash against Italy at Cardiff Arms Park on Sunday, February 2.
The side enjoyed a successful autumn campaign under coaches Chris Horsman, Gareth Wyatt and Geraint Lewis, including wins over Six Nations rivals Ireland and Scotland and the trio are in charge again for the Women’s Six Nations.
Captain Lillicrap is relishing the opportunity to lead her country in the most prestigious competition in world rugby. She said: “I’m honoured to lead the side and I hope I can do my family, team and Welsh rugby proud. One of the aims in this Six Nations is also to develop other leaders in our squad and to continue to develop strength in depth 18 months out from the Rugby World Cup.
“We have 11 players in the squad who made their Wales debut in the autumn. They don’t look out of place but this is a stage to step up another gear as we continue on our journey towards the world cup.
“Every training session is about closing that performance gap, upping our intensity, and performing at a better standard than we have before. We are challenging ourselves in every session we go into. We’ve had a good start to training over the last few weeks.”
Lillicrap is confident her Wales team will continue to go from strength to strength.
She added: “It’s great the resources the WRU are now putting into us. We are part of the performance department now. That gives us more resources on and off the training paddock and in the medical department which help us recover.
“It’s a really exciting time for women’s rugby in Wales. Playing against the Barbarians at the Principality Stadium last year is an experience that will live with me forever. That was a sign of where Welsh women’s rugby is going.
“From a player’s point of view we’ve had continuity throughout the autumn and we’ve got the same coaches for this campaign. We are developing and growing on that. We are being challenged as players to think differently, but that’s what you want. You want to be the best you can be.”
For Wales women tickets go to wru.wales/waleswomen
For Wales v Italy men’s tickets go to wru.wales/tickets
ENDS
