Gethin Jenkins (born 17 November 1980) is a Welsh former

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. He won 129 international caps for Wales and five for the

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

. Jenkins was the record cap holder for Wales until he was overtaken by Alun Wyn Jones on 29 September 2019. He is the sixth most-capped player in rugby union history and the most capped front row forward. He is one of a small group of Welsh players to have won three Grand Slams including Gerald Davies, Gareth Edwards, JPR Williams,

Ryan Jones Ryan Paul Jones (born 13 March 1981) is a Wales former international rugby union player who played at Number eight (rugby union), number eight, Flanker (rugby union), blindside flanker or Lock (rugby union), second row. He was involved in three ...

, Adam Jones and Alun Wyn Jones. On 31 October 2018 he announced his intention to retire after a final game for the Cardiff Blues against Zebre on Sunday 4 November 2018 following a recurring knee Injury. After his successful playing career, he had a number of coaching positions at Cardiff Blues and

Cardiff RFC Cardiff Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Caerdydd) is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876Parry-Jones (1989), pg 59 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after ...

. Following some poor performances by Wales in 2020, he joined Wayne Pivac's backroom staff in the role of Wales Assistant Coach focusing on Defence.

Early career

Educated at Llwyncrwn primary school and

Bryn Celynnog Comprehensive School Bryn Celynnog Comprehensive School is an 11–18 mixed, English-medium, community secondary school and sixth form in Beddau, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Notable alumni * Ellis Jenkins, rugby union player * Gethin Jenkins, rugby union player * ...

in Beddau, Jenkins first played rugby union aged 13 at Beddau RFC based in

Pontypridd () ( colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng ( Trallwn) and Treforest () ...

Club career

Jenkins played his Youth Rugby at

and captained his side to Welsh Cup Victory in 1998. He became a regular first team player and was a key figure in highly successful 2000-2003 Pontypridd Team winning the final Principality Cup of the pre-regional era and narrowly losing to

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the ...

in the final of the

Parker Pen Shield The European Shield (known as the Parker Pen Shield for sponsorship reasons) was a repechage tournament for teams knocked out in the first round of the European Challenge Cup. As such, it formed Europe's third-tier club rugby union competition ...

competition. The 2002 Pontypridd forwards that Jenkins played alongside were the basis of the pack that led Wales to Grand Slam success in 2005, with ex-Pontypridd players making up 6 of the 8 forwards. Following the introduction of Welsh Regional Rugby, Jenkins joined the Celtic Warriors before signing for Cardiff Blues following the demise of the Celtic Warriors. At the Cardiff Blues he won the Amlin Challenge Cup, and reached the Heineken Cup semi final. After an impressive World Cup 2011, his signature was hotly sought after with Bath, Perpignan and Toulon all chasing a deal for the prop. Jenkins joined French

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

side

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label=Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is the ...

for the 2012-13 season. Jenkins became the ninth Welshman to win a Heineken Cup with Toulon when he played as a replacement in the final against Clermont Auvergne. Jenkins is only the second Welsh player (along with Rob Howley) to win both European cups, after winning the Amlin Challenge Cup in 2010 with the Cardiff Blues and the Heineken Cup with Toulon in 2013.

International career

Wales

Jenkins made his first appearance for

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 ...

against Romania in 2002. In the 2005 Six Nations Championship he was rated one of the greatest influences in Wales' Grand Slam winning side, scoring a memorable try against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. In November 2007 Jenkins was asked to captain Wales against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

by Welsh temporary coach Nigel Davies. His reign as captain would last just one game as in December Wales hired

Warren Gatland Warren David Gatland (born 17 September 1963) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player who is currently in his second spell as the head coach of the Wales national team. As head coach of Wales from 2007 to 2019, he won four Six N ...

as coach who gave the captaincy to

. However Jenkins kept his place in the squad solidifying himself as number one choice for the #1 jersey. Jenkins captained Wales against Australia on 28 November 2009 following the withdrawal of regular captain

from the squad due to injury. Jenkins captained Wales in their last game of the 2013 six nations championship in Cardiff. Wales defeated England 30-3 to win the Championship. On 30 November 2013 versus Australia Jenkins became the most capped forward for Wales, surpassing

and

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

team-mate

Martyn Williams Martyn Elwyn Williams, (born 1 September 1975) is a former Wales and British & Irish Lions international rugby union player. A flanker, he was Wales' most-capped forward with 100 caps until surpassed by Gethin Jenkins on 30 November 2013. H ...

record of 100 caps. On 15 March 2014 versus Scotland he became the most capped player for Wales, overtaking the record of 104 caps held by Stephen Jones. Jenkins became the world's most capped prop forward ever on 29 August 2015 versus Ireland, overtaking the record of 119 caps held by Jason Leonard. Gethin Jenkins took part in both the 2016 Six Nations and the Wales tour to New Zealand. Jenkins also captained Wales during the 2016 Autumn internationals.

British & Irish Lions

Jenkins was selected for the

tour to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

in 2005 and played in all three tests. On 21 April 2009, Jenkins was named as a member of the British & Irish Lions for the 2009 tour to South Africa. In June 2009 Jenkins, Adam Jones and Matthew Rees were selected as the

front row for the second Test against South Africa. This was the first time an all-Welsh front row was selected for a Lions test match since

Billy Williams Billy Leo Williams (born June 15, 1938) is a former left fielder and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played from 1959 to 1976, almost entirely for the Chicago Cubs. A six-time All-Star, Williams was named the 1961 National League (NL) ...

, Bryn Meredith and Courtney Meredith on the 1955 Lions tour. Jenkins was selected for the British & Irish Lions for the

2013 tour Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14 * One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013 Music * 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ...

for the third time, but withdrew due to injury. He narrowly missed out on selection for the 2017 Tour to New Zealand following his knee injury issues.

International tries

Coaching career

Jenkins began his coaching career as defence coach for

, while still playing for Cardiff Blues. In 2020, he assisted with Wales U20, as a defence coach, before joining up with the senior side ahead of the 2020 Autumn Nations Series, as a technical coach. Ahead of the

2021 Six Nations The 2021 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 22nd Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, ...

, his role was made permanent, becoming the full time defence coach.

Style

Jenkins usual position is loosehead prop but he has also played in the

tighthead prop In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

position. He was one of the "new-breed" of front-rows, known for his speed, fitness and turnover ability, however some criticism was made of his scrummaging at times during his career. Despite his stern on-field persona, he was a well-respected and well-liked player, commonly referred to as "Melon".

Rugby league

Jenkins has also played

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

, making regular appearances for Cardiff Demons in the late 1990s leading them to the 1998 Division Two Academy Grand Final.

References

External links

*(archived by web.archive.org
Cardiff profile
*(archived by web.archive.org
Pontypridd profileWales profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Gethin 1980 births Living people British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Cardiff Rugby players Cardiff Demons players People from Llantrisant Pontypridd RFC players RC Toulonnais players Rugby league players from Rhondda Cynon Taf Rugby union players from Rhondda Cynon Taf Rugby union props Wales international rugby union players Wales rugby union captains Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players