The 47-year-old will be a part of Steve Tandy’s first Wales campaign, having joined the coaching team on an interim basis
Duncan Jones, right, with Adam Jones
As Steve Tandy builds up to his first campaign as Wales head coach, the final temporary pieces of the puzzle have been put in place.
Three fledgling coaches – Dan Lydiate, Rhys Patchell and Duncan Jones – will join Tandy’s coaching ticket for the upcoming Tests against Argentina, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. Unlike Tandy’s other assistants, Matt Sherratt and Danny Wilson, this trio will only be with Wales for those four Tests.
Perhaps, if things go well this autumn, there’s scope for something longer term. That’s a bridge to be crossed later down the line.
For now, Wales don’t know who will be looking after their scrum in 2026.
Instead, all they can do is focus on the second of the ‘Hair Bears’ taking charge of that area of the game for the latter part of this year.
After Adam Jones worked with Wales as a scrum consultant throughout the Six Nations and summer tour, it’s now his namesake, Duncan, who will end the year looking after that particular facet.
The pair, team-mates with the Ospreys and Wales, were dubbed the ‘Hair Bears’ in their playing days, given both possessed a fine head of frizzy hair; Duncan’s being fairer than Adam’s.
However, with both having long hung up the boots, they are now forging successful careers in coaching.
Adam Jones’ stock is high, with his work with Harlequins having seen him mentioned as a possible Lions assistant in the build-up to this summer’s tour of Australia.
Given he’s not working in England, Duncan perhaps doesn’t hold the same cachet as his former front-row colleague.
Ospreys coach Duncan Jones is very highly regarded(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)
Instead, the 47-year-old has been learning his trade with the Ospreys, spending nearly a decade looking after the club’s scrum.
Praise doesn’t always come his way as readily as other coaches, but those who work with Jones believe the call from Tandy is testament to the work he’s done in recent seasons.
“It should be,” said Ospreys head coach Mark Jones. “If you’re looking at our scrum over the last number of years, you’d say it’s one of the best out there.
“You’ve got to look at the guy coaching it and how he integrates with the players. You look at the players who play for Wales.
“Dewi Lake, Gareth Thomas, Garyn Phillips and Ben Warren have been involved too. The locks we’ve had over the years in the Wales set-up.
“Duncan’s played a big part in those guys’ development and bringing them through the academy when he worked there. Hopefully it’s good reward for the players’ performances to get the coach get recognised, but also it’s the coach helping the players improve.
“I think it’s a really good demonstration of what a really good regional team looks like, in terms of the players and coaches helping each other.
“We’re delighted. Another Osprey getting further honours, in the coaching world this time.
“One of the things the Ospreys have done over the years is promote players and coaches. The national coach was once here. The region has got a big history in moving people on, developing them and taking them to the next level. This is just another step in Duncan’s journey.
“It’s a great opportunity for him to go away and coach at international level against world-class opposition and then bring those learnings back into our environment, which can only be good for us.”
As for what makes him the type of coach that Wales want to bring in now, those who know him well would point to his affable nature and his technical knowledge of the front-row.
Even those who haven’t experienced life in the scrum can see what Jones is all about.
“You can probably write what I know about scrummaging on the back of a stamp,” adds Mark Jones, who won 47 caps on the wing for Wales in his own playing days. “What I would say as somebody who stood in the backline looking at the scrum while it was taking place – I probably had the best view of it for 10 years of my career – is that a lot of it is mindset.
“What I mean by that is you’ve got to really love it. If you want to be good technically and tactically in there, you’ve got to love being in there for a start.
“To ask what Duncan’s strength is, he’s very passionate about it. You haven’t got a choice about your mindset. Your mindset is the price of entry.
“I think when you have that, it becomes quite infectious around how you grow people and become a bit of a cult. People want to be associated with it, the energy around it.
“Then the tactical and the technical bit, he adds those layers in because he’s got over 50 Tests in the loosehead position, which if you need any clarity over the level of the person coaching you, that should say it all.
“Not every great player can switch to coaching, but he’s certainly done a good job of it in his area.”
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