Alun Wyn Jones has spent his entire career surprising people — from the day he effectively began his Ospreys career with an uncertain jumping session in front of the region's then coach Lyn Jones to how he retains his remarkable enthusiasm at the age of 35.
Rhys Carre became the latest to be taken aback when he and Jones were paired during Wales’ warm-up ahead of the game with Scotland last weekend.
The sheer intensity of what the captain was doing in the one-to-one session clearly left the youngster bemused. Maybe he learned more in 30 seconds than he had in the previous 30 months.
It was Ireland back-rower CJ Stander’s turn to be shocked on the Lions tour in 2017.
His tale during the latest episode of RugbyPass Offload gave an insight into the one percents that have helped Jones become the most-capped Test player of all time.
“I actually roomed with him for a week,” said Stander.
“I just remember my boots for some reason didn’t want to fit me.
“In the room, I was ‘Oh, Alun Wyn, I’m struggling with these boots’.
“It’s probably not the best story but it shows you how professional he was.
“He had this massive bag in his luggage. He pulled it out.
“He had shoe stretchers — I had never seen them before in my life.
“This man pulls them out of his bag as if it is nothing.
“That bag was a bag of tricks...it just showed the professionalism of the man. I had never seen a guy who brings shoe stretchers with him overseas. Well done.”
Stander explained how they worked, saying: “You need to put them in hot water, put them in and then turn it. I used the thing for the whole tour and I actually broke one.
“He’s probably going to see this and go: ‘Well, you owe me a beer’.”
There are probably more revealing stories about Jones, who is set to win his 150th cap next time out.
But this one still highlights the small details that have allowed the great lock to stay ahead of the pack for so long.
