He skippered the British & Irish Lions in the crucial third Test victory over Australia but Alun Wyn Jones has played down any talk of taking on the captain’s role for Wales.
After the Lions’ tour captain Sam Warburton picked up a hamstring injury in the second Test defeat to the Qantas Wallabies, Jones was Warren Gatland’s selection for the 41-16 victory in Sydney.
Wales are without a confirmed captain at present after Gethin Jenkins stood in for their final Six Nations match – a record 30-3 victory over England – with Warburton opting against taking the armband while Bradley Davies took on the role during the summer tour of Japan.
Warburton may retake the captaincy but he will miss the start of the season because of his hamstring injury, but Jones insists he’s purely focused on starting the season with the Ospreys.
“It's everyone's ambition to play for his country, irrelevant of whether you are captain you are a necessary foot soldier,” he told Wales Online. “All the congratulations [after the Lions tour] are very flattering. The squad did very well and we were proud of what we achieved.
“But you have to be picked in the [Wales] squad first before anyone can comment on the captaincy. It's arrogant if you talk about that before selection. It doesn't matter whether you have an armband on or are carrying a title.
“I just want to be back in the fold and playing for the Ospreys and Wales. There are no guarantees after coming off a Lions tour because you can have physical and mental fatigue.
"If that affects me early in the season and I don't make the Ospreys' squad then I won't be able to put my hand up for the Welsh jersey.
“I always tell people that my ambition at the start of every season is to pull on the black Ospreys jersey, be able to play and get a run of form. If you do that you put your hand up for selection in the red jersey.”
