By David Williams
Dafydd Jenkins has been been praied as “hard-edged” by Exeter Chief coach Rob Baxter as the Wales forward gets ready to make his comeback.
Jenkins, who has captained Wales, is poised to make his long-awaited return to the field as Exeter prepare to face Toulouse in the second round of the Investec Champions Cup on Sunday.
The 22-year-old lock, who has not featured for club or country since undergoing knee and shoulder surgery, is now fit and ready for selection.
Jenkins sustained a knee injury during Wales’ summer tour of Australia, which sidelined him for the Autumn Nations Series and the opening 11 matches of Exeter’s campaign.
Wales captain Dafydd Jenkins is set to return to action for the first time since July after recovering from shoulder surgery #BBCRugby pic.twitter.com/ZORQcH9sMW
— BBC ScrumV (@BBCScrumV) December 12, 2024
But Chiefs director of rugby Baxter is confident Jenkins return can provide a much-needed boost for his club.
“It may be an odd thing to say but he just gets on with things,” said Baxter.
“I often think that is one of the most underrated qualities that a sports player can have: something good or something bad can happen but it doesn’t stop you or divert you from what you need to do next.
“If anything, it kind of keeps pushing you and pushing you to the next thing.”
Baxter praised Jenkins’ work ethic and influence during recent training sessions.
“He has got a genuine hard edge around him and expects high standards from himself and everyone else, and he leads that in training, just with the way he acts and the way he moves around the training field.
“He goes on the training field every day expecting to be the best trainer, and that creates a lot of good qualities around the squad.”
Exeter boss Rob Baxter has delivered a positive injury bulletin ahead of Sunday’s #InvestecChampionsCup clash vs Toulouse https://t.co/qpZp5Kk9Bp
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 12, 2024
Jenkins’ return bolsters an Exeter side that has struggled this season, failing to secure a single Premiership victory so far after seven rounds.
Despite their poor start, Jenkins’ return brings a renewed sense of hope to the Chiefs as they look to turn their fortunes around.
“He is a very good rugby player,” Baxter noted.
“If you combine good rugby players with people who just get on with things and don’t get distracted, if you can create a group like that then you have a very strong team.”
His comeback coincides with the availability of other key players, including Wales teammate Christ Tshiunza and versatile South African forward Jacques Vermeulen.
Meanwhile, Olly Woodburn has resumed full training, though Argentina lock Franco Molina remains unavailable this weekend.
Reflecting on the improving injury situation, Baxter highlighted the importance of consistency within the squad.
“The bigger thing is getting the group of them back together rather than one comes, one leaves. What we need is we need to get the group to stay together and hopefully be a little bit injury free for a while.
“It doesn’t mean we can play that same group week in, week out, but it allows you to make the changes you want to make rather than the changes you get forced into making.”
Baxter acknowledged that some rotation is inevitable as Exeter navigate a congested schedule during the festive season.
“We’ll make some changes from last week anyway, just to freshen things up a little bit and also in preparation for another short turnaround against Sale,” he added.
Dafydd Jenkins To Miss Start Of Season As He Recovers From Two Operations