Farewell Gethin, the prop who was light on his feet
The retiring Wales and Lions player redefined his position with a wide range of skills, writes James Corrigan
At times he rivalled anyone on the pitch for his quickness of thought and action
So farewell Gethin Jenkins, the prop forward who redefined his role to such an extent that when he strutted his stuff on the pitch they would call it Strictly Scrum Dancing.
It is perfectly appropriate that he will play one final game for Cardiff Blues against Zebre on Sunday before retiring, because if anyone ever deserved one last waltz, it is the player they called “Melon Head”.
Jenkins does not want to bid goodbye, but at 37 and with a chronic knee condition he has no choice. “The pain I have been experiencing from rugby, in my daily life, simply isn’t tolerable,” Jenkins said in his statement yesterday. “But it’s important to me that after all the work I have put in, I run out with my team one last time and finish on my own terms.”
The rugby gods owe him that at least. He genuinely was that good.
True, Jenkins did not possess the twinkle-toed wonder of Shane Williams or the nonchalant swagger of Mike Phillips, and with that enormous cranium nobody would ever have confused him with a boy band member.
But all of those with whom he played and with whom he won three Grand Slams as well as a European Cup would hail him as one of the most accomplished performers of his generation.
Yes, he has been a pioneer in many respects, but it would be wrong to label Jenkins as the first prop who became an icon, because in Graham Price there was a figure celebrated throughout the nation.
But there can be no bigger compliment to Jenkins than comparing him with that eternal legend of the Pontypool front row.
It remains to be seen if Alun Wyn Jones, that other great red-shirted warrior of this age, overtakes Jenkins as the most capped Wales player of all time, but for now his 134 caps (129 for his country and five for the British and Irish Lions) is without peer.
The last time he ran out wearing those three feathers on his shirt was in the record victory over South Africa two years ago, yet another apt fact on a CV fairly creaking with honours.
If it is possible to identify his finest moment it was against Ireland in Cardiff in 2005. This was Wales’s first Grand Slam in 27 years and it was Jenkins who got the party started, shaking off the nerves which seemed to afflict the entire country that day by charging down a Ronan O’gara kick, before dribbling it over the try line and touching down.
The moment was made all the sweeter as O’gara has earlier referred to Jenkins as “a fat b------”.
It summed up Jenkins – the try, not the insult – because this was not the normal work of a prop, but more of a centre such as Jonathan Davies.
That was Jenkins for you. There would be times you swore he was the best flanker on the pitch as he made yet another turnover, and other occasions when he rivalled anyone on the pitch for his quickness of thought and action.
But be sure, he was a prop’s prop as well, being one of the last of that breed who could pack down on either side of the scrum, at loosehead or tighthead.
And the injuries he endured and from which he would always beat the odds to make his return – alas, until now – identified the Beddau boy as a role model for the modern professional.
A memory stirs of Steve Hansen, when he was Wales coach. I asked the future All Blacks maestro if he was optimistic for the then struggling Dragonhood. “I am,” Hansen replied. “And there are two words why. Gethin and Jenkins.” How right he was.
Tyler Morgan looks set to line up for Wales this autumn just six months after he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
The Dragons centre says he is getting used to the daily insulin injections and blood glucose monitoring required to help combat the condition.
Morgan intends to put the injury-hit misery of last season behind him as Wales prepare for an Under Armour Series that features Principality Stadium appointments with Scotland, Australia, Tonga and South Africa. The 23-year-old suffered a serious ankle problem last October, then a hairline fracture of his foot in February.
After losing a considerable amount of weight and feeling generally unwell, Morgan was told in May that he had diabetes.
“It’s still a bit of a trial and error period for me,” he said. “I am still learning about it and how it affects the different types of training I do and in games. But I feel I am pretty much on top of it now, I think I am managing it quite well. I inject once in the morning and once at night.
“When I am training, because I am eating a lot of carbohydrates, I would inject more times than I would do on a normal day.”
He added: “For me, it is more how am I going to make this work for me and better me, as opposed to how is it going to affect me?
“I am really chuffed to be back,” said Morgan, who won the last of his four caps against Samoa in 2017. “It is a big campaign for us with the World Cup just 12 months away. We are targeting four wins and hopefully I can be involved. I am confident in myself that I can perform at international level.”