Dafydd Jenkins (born 5 December 2002) is a Welsh international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player currently playing for

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

side

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played its home m ...

as a

Lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

. Jenkins has represented

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and Wales U20.

Club career

Born in Bridgend, Jenkins began playing rugby for

Porthcawl RFC Porthcawl Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in Porthcawl, Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Ospreys The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river h ...

juniors, where he progressed through the age groups. Jenkins attended Porthcawl Comprehensive School before transferring to Hartpury College, where he also played rugby. Prior to leaving Wales, Jenkins was part of the Ospreys academy. While playing for Hartpury, Jenkins was contacted by Exeter head coach Rob Baxter, and he linked up with their team in 2021. Jenkins studies sports sciences at the

University of Exeter , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

. He has played for their rugby team in the BUCS Super Rugby tournament, and was named man of the match when Exeter won the tournament, defeating

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

14–13, scoring a try in the final. On 13 November 2021, Jenkins made his

debut in the

Premiership Rugby Cup The Premiership Rugby Cup is an English rugby union knockout cup competition for teams in Premiership Rugby. It was created in 2018 to replace the Anglo-Welsh Cup after the withdrawal of the Welsh regions. History The Premiership Rugby Cup was ...

defeat to

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

. On 15 January 2022, Jenkins appeared as a replacement in the Champions Cup victory over

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

. Jenkins first Premiership start came in the Round 15 defeat to

Wasps A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

on 5 February 2022. On 12 November 2022, Jenkins set the Premiership record as youngest player named captain, at 19 years and 342 days old, in a victory over

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

International career

Jenkins was called up to the Wales under-20 squad for the first time ahead of the

2021 Six Nations Under 20s Championship The 2021 Six Nations Under 20s Championship was the 14th series of the Six Nations Under 20s Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic all the matches were played at Cardiff Arms Park, Car ...

, making his debut in the 25–8 victory over

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. On 28 January 2022, Jenkins was again called into the Wales under-20 squad for the upcoming 2022 Six Nations Under 20s Championship. On 14 November 2022, Jenkins was called up for

as injury cover in the 2022 Autumn Internationals. Jenkins made his international debut on 19 November 2022, coming off the bench against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

. On 17 January 2023, Jenkins was named in the Wales squad for the 2023 Six Nations Championship. He made his Six Nations debut on 4 February 2023, coming off the bench against Ireland. The following week, Jenkins made his first start for Wales, against Scotland.

Personal life

Jenkins is the son of Hywel Jenkins, who played as a back row for Swansea and

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and community situated in the Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,258 in 2011. Historica ...

. Hywel represented

Wales A Wales A , also known as Wales Dragonhearts, is an amateur international rugby league side that competed in the Skanska Amateur Four Nations. The players are picked from the Conference League South clubs and from the domestic competition the S ...

and Wales in an uncapped match against the United States, but did not attain a full senior cap.

References

External links

*
Exeter profile

WRU profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Dafydd 2002 births Living people Rugby union locks Exeter Chiefs players People educated at Porthcawl Comprehensive School Alumni of Hartpury College Alumni of the University of Exeter Welsh rugby union players Rugby union players from Bridgend Wales international rugby union players