RYAN Jones has already fulfilled a number of roles on the pitch for Wales this Six Nations and now he is carrying out a new off-field duty for Warren Gatland’s young guns – Grand Slam mentor.

Along with props Adam Jones and Gethin Jenkins, Jones, who is 31 today, is on the brink of a third clean sweep in eight seasons.

They will be joining a select bunch – only JPR Williams, Gareth Edwards and Gerald Davies managed a hat-trick in the 1970s.

Four years ago Jones was captaining Wales to glory against France while on Saturday he is set to start on the bench, but as a seasoned campaigner he remains a central figure.

"It’s only when you sit back and reflect that it hits home," he said. "Four years ago, Dan Lydiate and Sam Warburton were just embarking on their careers, while for me it seems like yesterday.

"It’s only when you sit back and try to put it into words for them, explaining what it was like, that you realise how special it was.

"To think that myself, Gethin and Adam could have three Grand Slams and three Triple Crowns over seven years is incredible.

"If the team wins this weekend, we’ll be the only three to do it and when you look back at history and see how few people have achieved three Grand Slams, you appreciate the magnitude of what could happen.

"You appreciate where your standing is in Welsh rugby."

So the coming week will be familiar territory for Jones, who has played blindside flanker, lock and number eight so far this tournament.

But plenty of his teammates – 14 of his colleagues from the matchday squad against Italy to be exact – are experiencing the mayhem for the first time… a source of jealousy for the Newport-born Ospreys forward.

"I sort of envy the boys who haven’t been through it, with their naivety," he said. "Expectation can be a wonderful thing to have. Some of us are a bit older and know what to expect having been here before.

"It’s an interesting week. I had to pop over to the supermarket to get a birthday card and, even though it was five days before the game, people were talking about Saturday, saying how nervous and excited they were.

"As your career goes on, you try not to think about a Saturday on a Monday.

"You just work your way through the week rather than allow yourself to become weighed down by thinking about what’s coming too early on.

"This campaign is different for the other campaigns that ended with Grand Slams.

"The ones in 2005 and 2008 were more of a surprise, virtually out of nowhere, whereas this one seems a bit more constructed.

"We went into the Six Nations with an expectation, a realistic goal to try to achieve this. So far we’ve achieved what we set out to achieve."

Key to avoiding falling at the final hurdle will be keeping their nerve on matchday and coping with the weight of expectation on their shoulders.

But the bus journey to the Millennium Stadium ahead of the Ireland showdown in 2005 was inspirational rather than causing Jones to buckle under pressure.

"It was unbelievable," he said. "I have never experienced anything like it prior to that or since.

"It was incredible from the moment we entered the pedestrian zone on the bridge.

"There were tens of thousands of people lining the streets, they were vocal and obviously wanting us to win so much.

"You realised then how special rugby is to Wales. You play in front of crowds but to see those people lining the streets, to see what it so visibly meant to people, was wonderful.

"Then coming out after the game was also something else. We couldn’t get down Westgate Street, not because people wouldn’t move but because there was nowhere for them to move to.

"It took us what seemed like a lifetime to get from the stadium back to our hotel."

A third slow Grand Slam bus journey would suit Jones just fine.