It was an ordinary Exeter training day at Sandy Park for Dafydd Jenkins when he received the news earlier this month that he would become Wales’ youngest captain since 1968.
But when Wales head coach Warren Gatland called the 21-year-old lock to offer him one of the biggest honors a player can receive in rugby, there was just one problem: Jenkins didn’t have Gatland’s number. Beware of confusion.
“I was very surprised,” said Jenkins, when he appeared before the media for the first time as leader of his country.
‘I was in Exeter, at the club, and I got a call from a number I didn’t have.
‘Gats clearly said who it was. I wasn’t so sure it was him, or that one of the guys was playing a prank! I spoke to him and I was quite convinced that it was him coming out of the conversation.
Dafydd Jenkins will lead Wales in their opening Six Nations match against Scotland
“After I got off the phone, a few guys around me asked who it was and I was a little skeptical about it. I was shaking afterwards.
‘When he (Gatland) asked me, I had to say yes.
“It was a huge opportunity for me and a chance to make my family proud.”
After verifying Gatland’s number with his Wales teammates at Exeter, Jenkins could relax in the knowledge that he was not the victim of what would have been a brutal and elaborate showdown. Only then could he try to take in the magnitude of the challenge he had just accepted.
When the 2024 Six Nations begin next weekend – Wales take on Scotland in their opening match – Jenkins is ready to put his name next to one of the greats in Sir Gareth Edwards.
Iconic former scrum-half Edwards captained Wales against Scotland in 1968, aged 20, in the opening match of that year’s Five Nations. The competition took place on February 3. More than half a century later, Wales’ first match of 2024 is not only against Scotland, but also on February 3.
Wales won the 1968 match 5-0. Jenkins would undoubtedly get a repeat score.
“It’s a dream come true,” he said of his captaincy.
‘It probably hasn’t sunk in yet. It was definitely a special day for me and my family.”
Jenkins certainly has Welsh rugby heritage and passion in his blood.
His eccentric father Hywel – nicknamed ‘Crazy Horse’ – played for Wales A, Swansea and Neath. Jenkins’ grandfather played in the same Wales Schoolboys team as Edwards.
The 21-year-old lock keeper is the youngest captain of the national team in 56 years
The family’s lineage continues. Jenkins is already captain of a young Exeter side that is impressing in the Gallagher Premiership and Champions Cup, having first managed Rob Baxter’s Chiefs at the age of 19.
At club level he excelled with the armband.
Now he has to do it at senior level with Wales. Gatland has lost a host of experienced players and seen Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake – who co-captained his team at the World Cup – injured. Wales’ squad for the 2024 Six Nations has an average age of just 25 years.
“I think a lot of people underestimate what this team can do,” Jenkins said. ‘A lot of people have already written us off, which is dangerous.
“They have done that in the past and as a country we have proven people wrong time and time again.”
Wales finished fifth in the last two Six Nations. Gatland and now Jenkins have emphasized their belief that they can upset the rest of the tournament’s more fancied teams.
Scotland at home, in front of a packed Cardiff crowd, is a winnable opener for Wales, even though Gregor Townsend’s side should be favourites. There was good news for Wales, with assistant coach Neil Jenkins confirming that Test centurion and key back George North will return to training on Friday after a shoulder injury.
“With the young squad, they wouldn’t be there if they weren’t talented enough and if Gats thought they couldn’t do their job,” Jenkins said.
“We are really looking forward to the Six Nations and aiming for wins. Hopefully the Welsh public can get behind the performances.”
Wales head coach Warren Gatland has lost a host of experienced players for the Six Nations
Interestingly, despite being named tournament captain, Jenkins is not 100 percent guaranteed to start in the match against Scotland as he has Will Rowlands and Adam Beard as closing rivals.
Jenkins admitted he would not rule out being on the bench.
Such a scenario would be a little strange, but as last year’s eventful Six Nations showed, anything can happen in the crazy world of Welsh rugby.
We are entering a new campaign. Whatever happens, it’s very unlikely to be boring.