There was a buzz in the Cardiff air on Saturday 3 February 1968. Elsewhere in Britain the slump in the polls of Harold Wilson’s Labour party after a disastrous devaluation of the pound occupied minds. But in the pubs and rugby club bars from Aberavon to Ynysybwl the fevered talk was all about a certain young Welshman: Gareth Edwards, elevated to national captain at the age of 20. Scotland, the visitors to the Welsh capital that day, had better brace themselves for the coming storm.
Fast forward 56 years and the echoes of that giddy moment are as plain as the red dragon emblazoned on a bottle of Brains beer. A Labour government may be on the way in this time and step forward Dafydd Jenkins, a raw 21-year-old lock, freshly minted as national captain by the Wales coach, Warren Gatland, for the Six Nations. And who should come calling first? Scotland, of course. The fans may still be singing Tom Jones’s Green, Green Grass of Home: “Yes, they’ll all come to meet you.”
Not since Edwards began forging his rugby legend in a terse 5–0 defeat of Scotland at Arms Park have Wales paraded a younger captain. They have turned to youth before, and in the not-too-distant past. Sam Warburton became Wales’s second youngest captain after Edwards at the age of 22 and 242 days when he led his country against Barbarians on 4 June 2011.
Granite-tough Warburton, later to captain two British & Irish Lions tours, led Wales during the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand. There, at 23, he guided his country to within one point of the final, this despite the cruellest of red cards 18 minutes into the semi-final at Eden Park when a tip tackle on Vincent Clerc was his final act on the field. France won 9-8 and many in Wales wept at the perceived injustice.
Warburton’s appeal reached beyond the game: he was mates with a superstar of Welsh sport, Gareth Bale. They went to the same Cardiff school – Whitchurch high – and there was plenty of the footballer’s reflected stardust to go around.
For Jenkins there is extra vibe to his first test as leader in being mentioned in the same breath as Edwards, who captained Wales 13 times in an 11-year international career. The Edwards era dovetailed with the red-shirted greats: Barry John, Phil Bennett and, poignantly given his death two weeks ago, JPR Williams. In that time, he and Wales won the then Five Nations Championship seven times, three grand slams among them.
Even with Will Rowlands and Adam Beard alongside Jenkins, this callow Welsh side – almost half the 34-strong group have cap totals in single figures – have many a mile to travel to reach touching distance of that honour roll.
Expectations are tempered these days in a proud rugby nation, with Taulupe Faletau, Dan Biggar, Liam Williams and the NFL-bound Louis Rees-Zammit all missing. Jenkins, though, is saying all the right things. “I think a lot of people are underestimating what this team can do. They have in the past and as a country we have proven people wrong time and time again.”
The recent Wales captains Jac Morgan (skipper at 23), Dewi Lake and Ken Owens have offered congratulations after Gatland’s elevation of Jenkins. Warburton, too, sent his best wishes. Plus, there is some Wales lineage to add to the mix. Jenkins’s father, Hywel, gained Wales A recognition, while his grandfather played alongside Edwards at junior level. The portents are there for any Wales fan wishing to delve deeper.
“My mum’s dad played in the same team as Gareth Edwards – Welsh schoolboys – and went on to play for Aberavon. My father played for Llanelli,” says Jenkins. “I like trying to lead by example on the field and around the training pitch. The 9s and 10s are great talkers and there are other leaders within the team, so I just try to do my bit on the pitch and hopefully people follow. You try and lead with your actions. There is no point telling other people what to do when you are not doing it yourself.”
Still canny Gatland clearly sees something special in the young man who plays his club rugby in the English Premiership and now leads his country barely a month after his 21st birthday. Jenkins first captained Exeter at 19 and this season has steered the club into title contention and the Champions Cup knockout phase. He is also highly rated by Rob Baxter, the Exeter rugby director, who knows a thing or two about mining talent gold. Wales will hope for history to repeat itself.
