News about Neil Jenkins

ALEX BYWATER: As the floodlights flicker under the night sky, the best player in Wales last season is almost unrecognisable as he goes about his business at his boyhood club. At Whiteheads RFC in Newport, Wainwright - the Dragons and Wales No 8 - is just another one of the boys. Wainwright coaches both the senior and junior sides at the club in the few free hours he gets away from playing professionally.

ALEX BYWATER: Recent history tells us the new campaign is likely to be anything but uneventful. Frankly, it is hard to escape the fact that once again the forecast looks gloomy. Before I'm accused of revelling in the negative, I shall point out I have been hugely fortunate to report on one of Wales' golden periods. From a media perspective, life is far easier in the good times. But currently, Warren Gatland's senior Wales men's side have lost their last nine Tests. Their only wins last season came in uncapped games with the Barbarians and Queensland Reds. Wales will start the season 11th in World Rugby's rankings, having dropped out of the top 10 for the first time since the standings were introduced after the 2-0 Test series defeat in Australia.

ALEX BYWATER AT THE PRINCIPALITY STADIUM: The Welsh fan waving a wooden spoon in the crowd before kick-off at Principality Stadium was clearly celebrating his team's recent fall from grace, although obviously jealous of his team's recent fall from grace. Now, there was absolutely nothing for Welsh supporters to celebrate as Warren Gatland's side lost in a straight defeat in 2024. It means Wales has finished last in the Six Nations for the first time since 2003. Wales' national game has seen a dramatic and sad decline.

When he learned earlier this month that he was going to be the youngest Wales captain since 1968, it was just a normal day of Exeter training at Sandy Park for Dafydd Jenkins. However, when Wales head coach Warren Gatland rang him one of the best awards a player can be given in rugby, there was just one problem - Jenkins didn't have Gatland's number. Cue inconsistency. Jenkins, who appeared as his country's leader before the media for the first time, was 'I was very surprised.'

On Saturday, Wales and Portugal will meet for the second time in rugby history. Warren Gatland's side will have no problem swatting away the European outfit in Nice, while a surprise bonus-point victory would keep their undefeated World Cup winning streak alive. However, Wales' 2023 class will have to imitate the 1994 team that beat Portugal 102-11 in Lisbon that year. Unlike Gatland's new crop, Wales' side from almost three decades ago didn't even qualify for the 1995 World Cup automatically.

Hundreds of miles from France to Spain in honor of his nephew is an actor who appeared in the hit BBC sitcom Gavin and Stacey. Ifan Huw Dafydd, the Nessa's father, Neil Jenkins, is walking the 475 miles from southern France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, raising funds for Ty Hafan Children's Hospice and the Jac Lewis Foundation. Rhys Tom, the actor's nephew, died at the age of 31 just 31 weeks before he was scheduled to run the London Marathon for the same charity this year. In honor of his nephew, he said, "his smile and the naughty twinkle in his eye will be with me forever." The 69-year-old is doing his best to ensure that his nephew's promise to raise funds for the hospice in honor of his childhood friend's birthday does not go unfull.

I have some news to share. After the World Cup, I've decided to put an end to my Wales experience. It's been 15 years since I went to my first camp, and it seems that now is the right time to walk away. I'm not on social media, but I wanted to use this column to explain my decision. I have a young family in France now, and I don't think it's fair for me to board a flight every fall, spring, and Six Nations. My eldest, James, is at an age where he attends school plays and sports days, and I don't want to miss those moments. It's hard to play ten for Wales at a time when playing ten for the first time. Alex, my wife, and I had a chat the other day about this. Everyone has an opinion, but there's always someone better than you. I've had plenty of times when I've been copped, and I'm proud of how long I've been doing it.

ALEX BYWATER: Jac Morgan was voted Wales' top writer for a long time and capped what has been a great few days for him by being named as the year's best Welsh writer. Morgan captained his country for the first time at senior level in a World Cup warm-up against England on Saturday and his side put on a man-of-the-match effort in a 20-9 win for his team. The 23-year-old's ascension to skipper came on the back of an impressive 2022-23 campaign, one for which he has been praised by Wales' rugby media. Morgan was forced to miss Wales' tour of South Africa by then head coach Wayne Pivac last summer, but he has excelled both in international rugby and in his region Ospreys.

ALEX BYWATER: Wales head coach Warren Gatland is expected to pick a complete new XV for his team's rematch with England, and rookie forward Taine Plumtree will have another opportunity to continue his rapid rise. The two teams met again at Twickenham on Saturday for their second World Cup warm-up match, just a week after Wales defeated Steve Borthwick's side 20-9 in Cardiff. Gatland is set to make 15 changes for the trip to London as he continues to make the players in his extended squad look as well as France's final cut.

Wales has admitted that their current pain, both on and off the track, is crippling, but Warren Gatland's staff has a sense of optimism that could turn the tide in the World Cup. In 2023, head coach Gatland saw his players suffer three consecutive Six Nations defeats, but away from the action, the Welsh game is in a shambles under ongoing financial and contractual uncertainty. On Saturday, Wales will fly to Italy, where it will determine who makes it to the bottom of the Championship table. Both teams are yet to win this year.

In December, Gatland made a dramatic return as Wales head coach, replacing fired Wayne Pivac and marking his presence by deleting Stephen Jones and Gethin Jenkins. Both King and Forshaw have recalled them as assault coach and defense lieutenant respectively, with the latter joining Sale from high-flying Premiership. In his first year as boss, Gatland led Wales to a remarkable run, winning three Six Nations grand slams between 2007 and 2019.

Even a win over Australia on Saturday might not be enough for Wayne Pivac to save his career after he presided over one of the 'darkest days' in Welsh rugby history. Wales' 13-12 loss to Georgia in Cardiff last weekend means they have now won just three of 11 Tests in 2022. Wales has lost to both Italy and Georgia this year, according to Pivac's assistant Neil Jenkins, who admitted that the strain was on Wales to bounce back against the Wallabies.