Alun Wyn Jones is an Ospreys director, effective immediately.
The appointment was expected, and confirms what the region signalled last week. What was not known is the deal struck over his television work.
Jones will keep his media commitments but has agreed not to provide punditry or analysis on Ospreys matches.
“The arrangement gives clarity around his responsibilities while allowing him to continue his wider media work,” said Roger Blyth, an Ospreys board director. “It is a sensible approach for someone who remains a prominent voice within the game.”
“We were not looking for a figurehead”
The owners were blunt about why he is there.
“We were not looking for a figurehead. We were looking for a director who understands this club from the inside, and who can also stand up in a boardroom, hold his own and have a view on the detail,” said James Davies-Yandle, chairman and chief executive of Y11 Sports & Media.
“It was already a strong board, this makes it stronger. He has earned this seat through preparation.”
Davies-Yandle said Jones’s playing experience would help the board connect with the squad, and that he understood “the demands that come with representing this club and this region”.
Swansea born, Swansea schooled, and back at the ground he played on
Jones was born and raised in Swansea, came through Swansea RFC and the Ospreys and national academy, and played at St Helen’s himself.
He has kept his links to the city since retiring, through work with Swansea University and his own business interests.
“I know the game, I know the city and I know the region,” he said. “I understand both the history here and the greater potential that exists.”
It is his second boardroom seat of the summer. In July he joined the Swansea Rugby Community Board, which decides how clubs, schools and communities share in the rebuilt ground.
He arrives with the club’s existence still unresolved
The club calls the appointment a deliberate step to strengthen the board “at a critical time for the region”.
That is putting it mildly. The WRU confirmed in July that Cardiff and the Dragons are guaranteed licences under its three-team model from 2028-29, leaving the Ospreys and the Scarlets fighting for the last place in the west, with a decision not due until spring 2027.
Jones was one of the senior voices warning about the direction of the Welsh game in the spring, before he had any formal role at all.
“I have an understanding of the challenges facing rugby in Wales and the Ospreys,” he said. “Equally, I can see the plans around the region, the development of St Helen’s and the energy within the supporter base.”
The Ospreys return to St Helen’s this season after a year at Bridgend, with the first home fixture against the Dragons on 24 October.
Further details of his responsibilities on the board will be confirmed later, the club said.
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