From scrum to rum: Rugby hero’s drink to hit supermarket shelves

Former Welsh rugby leader Alun Wyn Jones amazed Swansea shoppers arsenic they caught him stacking supermarket shelves.

Mr Jones, Wales’ astir decorated subordinate who helped triumph the Six Nations tourney 5 times, popped into his section Tesco store to assistance present the archetypal bottles and cans of his rum liqueur, Mimosa Rwm Espiritu, to beryllium sold connected the precocious street.

The erstwhile rugby great, who retired past twelvemonth aft captaining Barbarians, created a disturbance arsenic customers queued up for a chat and to instrumentality pictures with him successful his Tesco azygous connected Friday morning.

I happened to triumph my archetypal Welsh headdress astatine the Estadio Raul Conti successful Puerto Madryn successful Patagonia successful 2006 truthful this gave maine inspiration down the liqueur’s name

Alun Wyn Jones

Speaking to the PA quality bureau up of stacking the shelves, helium said: “I’ve played successful a fewer large games successful a fewer large stadiums, but I deliberation an aisle successful Tesco is going to beryllium much stressful than a batch of those things.”

He added: “I’ve been fortunate to play athletics astatine an elite level.

“We’re not rather determination yet successful the elite level of the drinks industry, we’re inactive successful our infancy, but I’m looking guardant to going to Tesco, and hugely grateful, for not conscionable this opportunity, but each the enactment we person had.”

He has created the rum and java liqueur with the Cardiff Distillery, having been inspired aft his favourite drink, a blend of tequila and java was discontinued a fewer years ago.

Mr Jones said helium wants his rum to beryllium a “vehicle” to archer a story.

He said: “In 1865, a vessel carrying the archetypal Welsh settlers acceptable disconnected for Patagonia successful Argentina successful a vessel called the Mimosa.

“It carried passengers seeking a caller beingness and opportunities and was soon followed by different ships, which established Welsh-speaking communities successful Patagonia which stay today.

“I happened to triumph my archetypal Welsh headdress astatine the Estadio Raul Conti successful Puerto Madryn successful Patagonia successful 2006 truthful this gave maine inspiration down the liqueur’s name.

“But erstwhile we launched the portion past year, we realised it was 158 years since that historical voyage of the Mimosa – and spookily that was the nonstop fig of caps I won playing for Wales.”

He added: “The important happening is that we’re a Welsh product, telling a Welsh story, being made successful Wales.

“I could person had my archetypal headdress anywhere, and the information that I had it successful Patagonia and the past of the Welsh settlers.

“Thinking backmost it’s beauteous huffy that it started determination successful a Welsh-speaking spot connected the different broadside of the world.

“When that happened small did I deliberation I’d execute what I person successful rugby.”

The rum volition initially beryllium sold lone successful Wales but Mr Jones hopes to commencement selling it implicit the borderline successful the future.

Tesco’s section buying manager for Wales, Nathan Edwards, said: “When we heard that Alun Wyn – the astir decorated British rugby subordinate of each clip – was readying to bring retired a ‘ready to drink’ mentation of his rum liqueur we jumped astatine the accidental to banal it.

“The portion has been disposable done a fewer online retailers lone but ne'er successful immoderate precocious thoroughfare store truthful we are genuinely honoured to beryllium the archetypal to banal it.

“What we ne'er imagined was when Alun Wyn asked if helium could don a Tesco azygous and badge successful bid to assistance get the archetypal bottles connected the support of his section store.”