Raw emotion.

Over the years there have been many great men that have represented the British and Irish Lions. Willie John McBride, Jason Leonard, Martin Johnson, Paul O’Connell, Brian O’Driscoll, and of course – Alun Wyn Jones.

The 2021 tour captain defied the odds this year when he returned to action to play a pivotal role in the Test series just weeks after his tour was supposedly ended with a dislocated shoulder.

It’s the ultimate Lazarus story but at 35 years old, we’re not expecting Jones to emerge from the pit once again in 2025. But that’s irrelevant, he’s already played his part and cemented his legacy as one of the all-time great Lions.

Saturday evening was a bitter pill to swallow for the Welshman, losing the series in the final minutes via a Morne Steyn penalty and it was a lot to take for the world’s most-capped Test player.

The presser was embargoed until last night and we promised you it would be worth the wait. We’ve got some quotes from the skipper as well as a powerful clip that shows you just how much the Lions means to him.

“I was asked about being a bit emotional after the game but I think on two counts – one, this is a Lions tour and it’s very special and particularly over the last 18 months to two years with the jeopardy it has faced from the global situation, even to be out here has probably meant more to a lot of people because we’ve had the privilege,” Jones said when asked about the uniqueness of this tour.

“We spoke about the Autumn Nation Cup, the Six Nations and playing through the lockdown, we were able to partake in our job and play sport. We were able to do this in South Africa which is obviously facing its own struggles with Covid, etcetera, so to be out here and be part of this… what has been a special tour probably for the wrong reasons and then get so close has been a very, very different but special tour and to fall short probably hurts more than if it was a bigger loss. We fully understand the significance of this tour particularly as it will be 12 years until we are back in South Africa and four years until the next one. That isn’t lost on anyone.”

But it’s when he was asked about what the Lions means to him where the real emotion came out.

“Ohh… I remember watching Jinks [Neil Jenkins] in ’97. So to be involved with him in Wales and to be out here with him is really special. Really special,” Jones said as he cleared his throat.

“Probably can’t put it into words, so I’m not going to try. You’ll probably get me going, I’ve already had a bit of stick for being overly emotional and you know, I don’t give a fuck if people think I’m over-emotional, that’s what it means to me and I apologise for using language but you know sometimes it’s easier to use the agent of a bit of raw language so I apologise for that.”

And here’s the clip. What a player, what a leader, what a servant.