It takes either an extremely brave or extremely stupid person to challenge Alun Wyn Jones on the rugby field, and Kyle Sinckler may well fall into the latter category.
By his own admission, that is, having described himself as "a tit" for scrapping with the Wales icon during a 2019 Six Nations clash. Sinckler was a year or so into his tenure as England 's tighthead prop of choice when he picked his British and Irish Lions captain as an unenviable target.
It was one entry in a list of missteps the Bristol Bear made at the Principality Stadium that day, which Sinckler has referred to as "one of the worst" in his career. Warren Gatland, who was Wales coach at the time, had spent some of his build-up referring to Eddie Jones ' front-row star as "a bit of a time bomb."
Jones—who holds rugby's all-time record of 162 Test caps—found himself on the receiving end when that timer reached zero. Looking back now, however, Sinckler reflects on the furore that erupted as the kind of behaviour he's worked hard to overcome.
"I was going through a tough time," Sinckler said during a recent appearance on the House of Rugby podcast. "I know people say I didn't, but I feel I did mess it up and lose the Grand Slam for England when I was a tit and got taken off after 60 minutes because I was trying to fight Alun Wyn Jones and be seen as this tough guy.
"In that part of my journey, I was very victimy. I'd be like 'It wasn't my fault,' 'This is rubbish,' 'I don't know why I've been taken off, it wasn't me.' That [World Cup] pre-season was mentally the hardest I'd ever been pushed, and Eddie was trying to curb that discipline and make sure I was someone he could count on."
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Sinckler went on to admit he probably wasn't viewed in that light after the AWJ incident, with Wales going on to claim their fourth Grand Slam while England finished as runners-up. He did play a prominent hand in his side's run to the Rugby World Cup final in Japan later that same year, scoring a try in England's quarter-final decimation of Australia.
In an effort to temper his aggression, Sinckler added he's worked with psychologists, though he becomes frustrated with their similar diagnoses to "think cold and blue." "I'd be thinking 'Have you played rugby?!' I'm at the Millennium Stadium with 70,000 people, trying to centre myself," he joked.
While Sinckler may have received some poor publicity for potentially contributing to England's demise, it's worth noting Jones did his bit to wind up his target. One imagines the incident is water under the bridge given Sinckler toured under his Lions skipper for a second time in 2021, having learnt to tame his ego since coming to blows in Cardiff.
