Week getting better and better for Chiefs’ Jenkins
After becoming Premiership’s youngest captain, teenager now set to face Georgia
EXETER Chiefs’ teenage second row Dafydd Jenkins is having one hell of a week to remember.
Three days after becoming the youngest ever player to captain a club in the Premiership, leading Chiefs to a 22-17 victory over London Irish on Saturday at the age of 19 years and 342 days old, the lock has now been named in Wayne Pivac’s Wales squad to face Georgia in the Autumn Nations series on Saturday.
Jenkins (pictured) has been named amongst the replacements and is set for his senior international debut, having been called into the Wales squad on Monday following the injuries to Will Rowlands and Dan Lydiate.
Jenkins, who is a second year student at the University of Exeter alongside playing for Chiefs, has made just 14 senior appearances for Exeter so far but follows in the footsteps of team mate Christ Tshiunza in breaking into the senior Welsh set-up as a teenager.
Discussing Jenkins, Pivac said: “Dafydd Jenkins is a young player that we’ve had an eye on for quite some time now. He’s done well with the U20s and is doing very well at Exeter Chiefs. Talking to Rob Baxter, he’s very happy with what Daf is doing.
“Daf captained that side last week so his leadership is valued and already in camp for a very short time he’s picked everything up very quickly.
“We’re excited to see him go.
There’s not many players like him in Wales and he’s definitely a player for the future and one that we think this is the opportunity to have a look at
him. “Georgia are a side that will be not too dissimilar to Argentina in terms of the forward play, they’re very strong up front. “Traditionally they’ve been good in the set piece, good driving lineout and very physical.
“We need to back up the performance against Argentina, be a lot more clinical with the ball. We’ve challenged the boys again and I think a response will be what we’re looking for on the weekend.
“For us it’s about starting well - the last two matches we’ve gifted the opposition points early - so discipline early on is going to be important.”
Meanwhile, Jack Nowell has been named in Eddie Jones’ 36-player England training squad for their match against New Zealand this weekend.
England will take on the All Blacks at Twickenham stadium on Saturday (5.30pm) for the first time since they won the 2019 Rugby World Cup semi-final.
Vice-captain Nowell is named alongside fellow Chiefs Luke CowanDickie, Sam Simmonds and Henry Slade despite missing last weekend’s 52-13 victory over Japan.
Captain Owen Farrell is in line to make his 100th cap this weekend and there is a return to the full squad following injury for Will Stuart, along with Adam Radwan.