Why history could repeat itself if Gatland makes Ellis his Wales skipper
HISTORY, so they say, has a habit of repeating itself – and Welsh rugby could be about to lend further credence to such a theory.
When Warren Gatland bestowed the Wales captaincy on Sam Warburton ahead of the 2011 World Cup, he anointed a 22-year-old, the youngest Welshman man ever to lead his country.
Warburton had won 14 caps in two years, but in his personality, attitude and ability Gatland saw a candidate better suited to wear the armband than a host of more experienced options.
It proved a masterstroke. Warburton, through thunderous commitment and leadership by example, drove Wales to the semi-final of the global tournament and went on to bestride a new era.
Now that the former Lions skipper has retired, it is natural to survey what is left behind on both the positional and captaincy fronts.
That Wales are incredibly wellstocked with openside talent is welldocumented. And there is no shortage of potential new on-field leaders either.
But could marrying those two characteristics, as Gatland did so successfully seven years ago with Warburton, be the way forward once again on the eve of a World Cup? Could history be about to repeat itself through the coronation of Warburton’s former teammate at regional and international level, Ellis Jenkins?
These are the main points to consider...
The captaincy shake-up
WARBURTON may have relinquished leadership duties to Alun Wyn Jones, but there isn’t any cast-iron guarantee the lock forward will lead his country into the World Cup.
The Welsh management review the captaincy after every block, be it the autumn Tests, the Six Nations or the end-of-season tour.
Jones sat out June’s hat-trick of triumphs over South Africa and Argentina, with Jenkins and Cory Hill sharing leadership duties. Don’t assume Jones will automatically get the nod. Gatland won’t shy away from making big decisions if he feels they’re best for the squad and improving Welsh prospects at next year’s World Cup.
Returning centre Jonathan Davies, No.8 Taulupe Faletau, who led Wales against Italy in this year’s Six Nations, hooker Ken Owens and Hill would be in contention.
But the boldest option would be Jenkins, for it would draw sumptuous parallels with what happened at the 2011 World Cup.
The white-board anecdote
IN New Zealand in 2011 one thing in particular stood out for me - the white board Wales had in their squad room.
It was split into two by a marker pen line, one side being wet, one dry. In other words, those who were giving up alcohol completely for the tournament wrote their names on the ‘dry’ side, the rest were in the wet category.
The top name on the dry side read Sam Warburton, and the effect was profound with the majority of the squad joining him.
That alone signalled the esteem in which they held him and Warburton was able to carry his team-mates with him as Wales went on to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 1987.
Ellis Jenkins is in the same mould. He’s prepared to take the lead role in terms of making sacrifices and take others with him.
With the main man having sadly departed the playing arena, it would actually make it easier for Gatland to appoint Jenkins.
Warburton, if he had returned to battle and been at his best, would almost certainly have been in the Wales back-row at the World Cup and may have been captain.
So, there’s a place freed up and the odds on Jenkins being in the starting line-up have shortened with his work and physicality at the breakdown also being a strong feature of his game.