Alun Wyn Jones is set to give Welsh rugby and the Ospreys a massive boost by signing a new deal to stay in Wales.
The inspirational Wales Grand Slam captain’s National Dual Contract expires following the World Cup in Japan later this year.
His future had been unclear with money-laden clubs in France, England and Japan waiting to pounce for the 33-year-old.
Jones, who today capped off his dream Six Nations with the accolade of being named the player of the championship , is now poised to play on after the World Cup in Wales.
He is expected to commit his future to his home region Ospreys just a couple of weeks after they staved off the threat of a controversial merger with the Scarlets.
“I know he was thinking potentially about when he was going to call time on the game but he is feeling pretty good at the moment,” said coach Warren Gatland.
“So Wales might get a few more years out of him. There is no doubt he has been a very important member of the team and the forward pack.
“He has matured gracefully. In the early years he was a bit hot-headed and temperamental. He was the one starting the fights in training – that is what a competitor he is.
“He has done a fantastic job this season in leading the team and has a huge amount of respect from the players.
“He has been very important to us, he is a player who does not pick up many injuries and has been a constant,” Gatland said before Jones led Wales to the Six Nations title with a walloping of Ireland.
Welsh fans will hope the super-fit Jones, who was this week offered the freedom of his home city of Swansea , decides to make himself available for Wales selection to Gatland’s successor Wayne Pivac following the World Cup.
Jones last weekend drew level with Lions and Wales prop Gethin Jenkins’ 134 Test appearances and is just 15 caps short of overhauling New Zealand living legend Richie McCaw’s all-time record of 148.
He joined Adam and Ryan Jones by becoming the third Welshman during the professional era to bag four Six Nations titles, three with Grand Slams.
A fourth Lions tour, in South Africa in 2021, could be a carrot for Jones, who has arguably been in the best form of his career and is still improving as a player.
He skippered the Lions in their historic tour-winning Test against Australia in 2013 and was also in the side that secured the famous drawn series against back-to-back World Cup holders New Zealand two years ago, becoming the first player to play nine consecutive Tests for the tourists in the professional era.
Jones may feel he has unfinished business with the Lions in South Africa after being on the end of a heart-wrenching defeat during an epic and brutal series in 2009.
He would be 35, but fellow lock Simon Shaw was the same age when he packed down against the Springboks for the Lions and ended his England career at 38.
Jones started his career with Bonymaen RFC before joining Swansea RFC. He made his Ospreys bow against Leinster as a 19-year-old in September 2005 and his Wales debut versus Argentina in the Patagonia city of Puerto Madryn in June 2006.
He has made a record 236 appearances for the Ospreys and been touted as Wales’ greatest ever player in the wake of his latest Grand Slam.
Ospreys supporters will be heartened ahead of the must-win Guinness PRO14 derby with the Dragons that the region’s talisman is set to stay put.
Powerbrokers at the Swansea-based region have launched a “we fight on” campaign and are hoping to make a statement to Welsh Rugby bosses following the proposed merger with the Scarlets, by attracting a bumper crowd to the Liberty Stadium tomorrow.
They have only twice exceeded 10,000 against the Dragons, with 14,478 attending Shane Williams final regular league season match before retirement in May 2012.
