1
After 26 months out of the game injured Ellis Jenkins is ready to captain Wales
By PA
Wales boss Wayne Pivac has offered a ringing endorsement of Ellis Jenkins’ leadership credentials after appointing him captain for the Autumn Nations Series clash against Fiji.
Cardiff flanker Jenkins burst back on to the international scene after three years with an impressive display as Wales lost 23-18 against world champions South Africa last weekend.
A major knee injury – suffered during Wales’ 2018 victory over the Springboks – sidelined him from all rugby for 26 months, and he ended his Wales return as skipper after centre Jonathan Davies went off.
Jenkins, 28, now leads from the start on Sunday, and Pivac said: “Ellis has certainly got leadership qualities, we know that.
“He has the ability to captain a side, but the first thing you need to do to do that is be a number one starter, so the big thing for him at the moment is to keep on building on his short return to the game.
“Where we are with the lack of leadership and captaincy experience lends itself to him taking the side this week. Certainly, we don’t think it’s going to hamper his game.
“He is an experienced player, he understands the game and he makes good decisions. He is a good communicator, good with referees and asks good questions.
“He has been, and will be again, a leading player for Wales moving forwards. It’s just time now in the saddle for him in his position back on the park.
“There is no reason why Ellis, with his skill-set, can’t have the ability to play across the back-row, in my opinion.
“The big thing is making sure players don’t lose too much speed with a serious injury like that, and that’s something Ellis is working on. I am sure he is just going to get better and better.”
Sunday also promises to be a red-letter occasion for 19-year-old Exeter prospect Christ Tshiunza.
Tshiunza can play in the second-row or back-row and he will be among Wales’ replacements against Fiji, with a Test debut looming.
Pivac added: “He is athletic, can play six and second-row, and at 19 with that natural frame at the moment, just imagine him in two years’ time with the training and the gym.
“We want to bring him into camp, because every now and then a player like this comes along and the more time you can spend with them and further their development, the better it is for them.
“He is in a pretty good space at the moment at Exeter, and he will be learning a lot there as well.
“If you look at what is coming up with the 2023, 2027, 2031 World Cups, those boys at 19 and 20 years of age, there is no reason if they look after themselves and keep developing that they can’t be involved in three Rugby World Cups.
“Getting to a World Cup with 33 players, you have to have players who are interchangeable and can play more than one position.
“We want to have what I would describe as a hybrid – someone who can play at lock and six.”
Trending on RugbyPass
2
All Blacks XV player ratings vs Munster
3
Suaalii strikes awe as Wallabies lose midfielder
4
Scott Robertson responds about handling errors
5
Latest Comments
Nah, that just needs some more variation. Chip kicks, grubber stabs, all those. Will Jordan showed a pretty good reason why the rush was bad for his link up with BB.
If you have an overlap on a rush defense, they naturally cover out and out and leave a huge gap near the ruck.
It also helps if both teams play the same rules. ARs set the offside line 1m past where the last mans feet were😅
Go to commentsYeah nar, should work for sure. I was just asking why would you do it that way?
It could be achieved by outsourcing all your IP and players to New Zealand, Japan, and America, with a big Super competition between those countries raking it in with all of Australia's best talent to help them at a club level. When there is enough of a following and players coming through internally, and from other international countries (starting out like Australia/without a pro scene), for these high profile clubs to compete without a heavy australian base, then RA could use all the money they'd saved over the decades to turn things around at home and fund 4 super sides of their own that would be good enough to compete.
That sounds like a great model to reset the game in Aus. Take a couple of decades to invest in youth and community networks before trying to become professional again. I just suggest most aussies would be a bit more optimistic they can make it work without the two decades without any pro club rugby bit.
Go to comments