Six Nations 2023: Wales player strike against England is 'last option' - Alun Wyn Jones

Alun Wyn Jones was Warren Gatland's Wales skipper astatine the 2019 World Cup successful Japan

Alun Wyn Jones says it would beryllium the "last option" for Wales players to spell connected onslaught against England but admits the menace of enactment is "hard to deny".

Players successful Wales have been considering onslaught action up of the Six Nations crippled against England connected 25 February.

Head manager Warren Gatland says helium would not enactment players striking but backs his players successful their declaration quality with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU).

When asked whether going connected onslaught for England's sojourn to Cardiff was a existent possibility, Jones said: "I accidental it is. It's hard to deny, but it's the precise past option.

"There are radical who are truly impassioned. Ultimately, if you dainty radical severely for agelong enough, you get to wherever we find ourselves.

"We realise what we bash and however fortunate we are to bash it, but if this was immoderate different enactment of enactment oregon immoderate different manufacture for this play of clip with this magnitude of uncertainty, you'd get the aforesaid reaction.

"We're precise respectful to nine arsenic a whole. But it comes to a constituent present wherever the crippled successful Wales has to marque a determination connected which mode it wants to go."

Gatland said "no" erstwhile asked if helium would enactment his players if they decided not to play against England.

But helium added: "I wholly enactment the stance they are taking successful presumption of wanting to get immoderate solution astir the issues they have.

"But I deliberation determination are a batch things astatine involvement successful presumption of ensuring that that fixture does instrumentality place.

"I americium supportive of the players and the things they are trying to do.

"The players person been large successful the past fewer days. They person got a abstracted contented they privation sorted but erstwhile it's travel to the rugby, they person been fantastic the mode they person prepared successful the past fewer days.

"There person been ongoing discussions with the national and the PRB (Professional Rugby Board) to hopefully get things sorted out.

"You can't blasted players for being connected contracts and money. If idiosyncratic comes and offers you 30 oregon 40 expansive much than you are now, if your wage goes up to 300 from the 260 you are connected now, past however tin you blasted the players for accepting contracts?

"So it's a small disingenuous to accidental the players are being paid excessively much. I don't spot however it's a responsibility of theirs.

"The bottommost enactment is that we person been overspending successful Wales for a fig of years and immoderate of the regions are successful fiscal difficulty. That's the situation."

Alun Wyn Jones has played 156 internationals for Wales and 12 Tests for the British and Irish Lions

Jones, 37, is the world's most-capped subordinate and has seen astir things successful Welsh rugby.

He spoke eloquently astir the existent situation having seen assorted disputes unfold since his planetary debut successful 2006 and said players indispensable not beryllium "held to ransom".

"I would similar to says convey you, connected behalf of the players, for the enactment that has been shown from the nationalist and ex-players, peculiarly successful the past 24 hours, due to the fact that things look to person travel to a head," said Jones.

"It is disappointing arsenic players are caught successful in the mediate again.

"It's the perennial speech astir funding, who has what, [we are] caught successful the mediate betwixt the PRB and regions and union.

"It is disappointing [that] we are 20 years into determination rugby and it's the aforesaid things that person travel around.

"We've had banding systems, Project Reset, I retrieve successful 2019 we met astir imaginable mergers, and the crippled has survived each of those things. It has travel to a constituent wherever radical are being affected, determination is imaginable to impact families.

"This existent play has travel to a caput aft 18 months. This was expected to beryllium sorted a agelong clip ago.

"Players who had the opportunity, oregon mightiness person had the opportunity, to spell determination other mightiness not get that present due to the fact that different teams are filling their rosters.

"The players haven't had a voice, whether it beryllium done the WRPA (Welsh Rugby Players' Association), and decisions person been unilaterally made oregon we find retired from you guys (the media) what is happening with people's futures, which isn't perfect successful immoderate nonrecreational oregon enactment environment.

"That's the disappointing thing, the basal attraction of players and the continued unprofessional quality of dealings.

"You don't privation to spot guys successful their aboriginal 20s not knowing wherever their vocation is going to go. You're astir boxed successful arsenic a subordinate with nary option, which isn't perfect for anyone."

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Jones said the scrapping of the 60-cap regularisation and re-negotiating the caller players' contracts that volition beryllium offered could assistance resoluteness the concern implicit the adjacent fewer days.

Wales' 60-cap rule, established successful 2017, sees players who subsequently signed contracts to ply their commercialized extracurricular Wales deemed ineligible for Test enactment unless they person won 60 caps oregon more.

He besides said the WRPA indispensable beryllium fixed a dependable connected the PRB.

"We conscionable privation to person an receptor successful the country to cognize what's going on," said Jones.

"We privation a dependable arsenic good and a treatment astir scrapping the 60-cap rule, that's travel retired truthful I'm comfy successful saying that, and the fixed adaptable portion of the contract.

"We are good alert determination are rebalances that request to beryllium made financially but again it comes down to players being boxed successful with their options successful presumption of the 60-cap regularisation and the contractual obligations.

"It's yet successful question present due to the fact that dialog has been had and arsenic players we've voiced our concerns.

"We've astir apt done that successful much of a messy mode than we would person liked to due to the fact that of definite things successful the past 24 oregon 48 hours, but yet it's present down to the regions and the national to enactment connected an option.

"Speaking connected behalf of the playing radical of Wales, we conscionable privation to play rugby.

"Everyone wants to play the game. It's astir protecting the crippled to guarantee it goes good for generations to come.

"We person to benignant this retired now. We can't spell backmost into this rhythm of uncertainty due to the fact that it's not helping."

Warren Gatland returned for a 2nd stint arsenic Wales manager successful December 2022

Gatland said the WRPA needs to person a stronger dependable aft stating it has been "incredibly weak" successful the past.

Jones believes the assemblage that represents Wales' players is improving.

"It's got amended twelvemonth connected year," helium added.

"Having been progressive connected that enforcement committee for a while, determination were times erstwhile those deliverables weren't met.

"Now we've got a overmuch amended instauration with a main enforcement that's seemingly successful control.

"We person WRPA reps successful each region. There is simply a batch of worldly going connected but the WRPA hasn't had the accidental to person a dependable oregon an receptor with PRB connected the decisions that impact players."

Wales' players, meanwhile, person made a squad determination to intermission filming with Netflix, who are making a documentary connected this season's Six Nations.

Asked astir reports that the squad near a sponsors' meal aboriginal connected Wednesday nighttime arsenic a protest, Jones said: "We went for the meal and were contiguous to amusement our look and convey each the sponsors. We went there, thanked the sponsors, and did our relations there."