The 95-Test former Wales international praised Gatland for urging Louis Rees-Zammit to have a good crack at the NFL after the winger announced his decision on the day of the Six Nations squad announcement.

The 22-year-old was, therefore, not included in Gatland's squad for the tournament with the Wales head coach also selecting a youthful-looking squad for the championship.

Rees-Zammit's decision to take a break from rugby to chase an NFL contract has been criticised by many, but Jones felt that it was a great opportunity and praised his bravery in giving it a go.

"It's always the same in Welsh rugby; there is always something, but I reckon this is the most extreme one, especially with Rees-Zammit going there, but it's out there, and I'm sure there's, in fairness to the young fellow, there are reasons around that, but it came from nowhere," The now Halrquins' coach told Two Cents Rugby.

"My father actually spoke to a guy from Gloucester a couple of weeks ago who mentioned it, so there must have been a bit of rumour mill going out in Gloucester. In fairness to him, If you want to give it a crack, give it a crack. He is only 22, so he's got plenty of time to come back, doesn't he?

"I was reading some stats; he seems to be as quick as their wide receivers. I don't know the sport that well, but I'm sure he will have a bit of interest, and there will be teething problems, but he's young, he's confident, and he and he's very, very fast so, what more do you want? So give it a crack, see how it goes, but it's not good for Wales though."

Speaking on Wales' chances in the Six Nations, Jones said that Gatland's squad will need to ˜take a bit of pain first' as they look to develop in the coming years. However, he was still optimistic for the side in 2024.

"We got the blue teams at home [Scotland, France and Italy], so regardless of the number of caps in the squad, I still fancy us beating Scotland at home," he said.

"I still fancy beating Italy at home, while France are obviously pretty sharp. As for England, especially with a young group going to Twickenham, they won't fear it.

"It's not like the Welsh teams in the 80s and 90s go there, you know when you're going to get stuffed; it's not like that anymore. Wales will definitely want to get the Scotland and Italy wins and I think that would be a successful campaign on the quiet. But you never know this Welsh team; they could just as easily turn France over in the home game as well."

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