Dafydd Jenkins has admitted he was left shaking after the phone call from Warren Gatland that elevated him to lofty heights as Wales’ youngest captain for 56 years.
The 21-year-old Exeter lock is set to lead his country against opening Guinness Six Nations opponents Scotland on Saturday week.
Not since a 20-year-old Gareth Edwards skippered Wales for the first time – also against Scotland in Cardiff – during the 1968 Five Nations, has there been such a youthful captain.
Jenkins, though, already has plenty of experience having first captained Exeter at 19 and this season steered them into Gallagher Premiership title contention and the Investec Champions Cup knockout phase.
Recalling the moment that he described as “a dream come true”, Jenkins said: “I was in Exeter, at the club and I had a call from a number I didn’t have (in his phone), and Gats obviously said who it was.
“So you’re just going along with it, really. I was not too sure it was actually him or one of the boys playing a prank.
“So I spoke to him and I was pretty convinced it was him, coming off the call.
“After I put the phone down a few of the boys around me were asking me who it was. I was shaking afterwards. It was class.
“I had it (Gatland’s number) on WhatsApp and we have a few other Welsh boys at Exeter like Joe Hawkins, so I compared the number with him.”
Recent Wales captains Jac Morgan, Dewi Lake and Ken Owens were soon in touch to offer congratulations, along with former Wales and British and Irish Lions skipper Sam Warburton.
Jenkins’ father Hywel was an outstanding back-row forward who gained Wales A recognition at representative level, while his grandfather played in the same Wales schoolboys side as Edwards.
“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,” he added.
“I like trying to lead by example on the field and around the training pitch. Obviously, the nines 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.
“I think you try and lead with your actions. There is no point telling other people what to do when you are not doing it yourself.”
Jenkins has just 12 caps to his name and he features in a highly-competitive second-row area with the likes of Will Rowlands and Adam Beard.
But Gatland has seen the same qualities in him as Exeter rugby director Rob Baxter, handing him the top playing job in Welsh rugby job barely a month after his 21st birthday.
He will take a charge of an inexperienced squad – almost half the 34-strong group have cap totals in single figures – while Wales’ Six Nations prospects have been dismissed by many, especially given the absence of players like Morgan, Lake, Taulupe Faletau, Dan Biggar, Liam Williams and Louis Rees-Zammit.
“I think a lot of people have written us off already, which is a dangerous thing to do with us,” Jenkins said.
“Obviously, with the young squad, they wouldn’t be in there if they weren’t talented enough and if Gats didn’t think they could do a job.
“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.”
Wales, meanwhile, have eased any fears surrounding centre George North, who suffered a shoulder injury during Ospreys’ European Challenge Cup victory over the Lions in Johannesburg on Sunday.
Wales assistant coach Neil Jenkins said: “George is going to be alright. He might do a little bit this afternoon, but hopefully he will be able to train (on) Friday.”
Rees-Zammit relishing Mahomes advice as former rugby star eyes spot on Chiefs roster
Louis Rees-Zammit has likened Patrick Mahomes to an extra coach as he looks to make an impact in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Rees-Zammit shocked rugby union fans in January when he announced he was turning his back on the sport to enter the NFL's International Player Pathway programme.
He was signed by two-time defending Super Bowl champions Kansas City in March and is now looking to earn a place on their roster for 2024, learning the role of running back at the Chiefs' rookie minicamp after attending another training camp alongside Mahomes.
Rees-Zammit has made sure to pick the brains of Mahomes, who has led the Chiefs to six straight AFC Championship games and won three Super Bowl rings since being drafted in 2017.
"It was amazing, all the quarterbacks and receivers were there, we were running routes, we were working in the gym", Rees-Zammit said of his experience at that camp in Texas.
"It was a great two weeks, I definitely learned a lot with Pat and the other boys."
Asked if Mahomes was acting like an extra coach, he said: "100 per cent.
"I'm new to the game so I'm trying to pick everyone's brains and try and pick up the sport as quick as possible because I want to be out there playing.
"The way I can do that is picking the brains of everyone that's currently here and trying to learn the game as quickly as possible."
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has been impressed by Rees-Zammit's attitude, saying: "He's so diligent with everything and wants to be so good at everything. I appreciate that.
"I like the fact he's got shorter steps initially, that's a good thing as a running back. If you're a long strider in there you've got to really work on making it through those tight adjustments you have to make. He seems to have a nice feel."
England and Saracens number eight Vunipola fined after arrest in Mallorca
England international Billy Vunipola has confirmed he has been fined after an incident which saw him arrested in Mallorca on Sunday, with his club Saracens set to launch an internal investigation.
On Monday, widespread reports claimed Vunipola had been tasered by Spanish police in the early hours of Sunday morning, with an altercation taking place after he left a club in Palma.
Saracens later confirmed they were aware of an incident and said they would deal with it internally.
The number eight, who was born in Australia but has represented England 75 times, later released a statement of his own via his club, denying that any violence took place and confirming the police investigation was now closed.
"I can confirm I was involved in an unfortunate misunderstanding when I was leaving a club in Mallorca on Sunday, which got out of hand," that statement read.
"Contrary to media reports, there was no violence, no fight and I did not threaten anybody at any stage, with bottles or chairs or anything else.
"I was charged with resisting the law and, following an 'express trial', I have paid a fine of €240. The Spanish police investigation is now closed, and I am flying back to the UK today.
"I will obviously cooperate with the Saracens internal process and unreservedly apologise for any inconvenience to all involved."
Fraser Brown ‘hugely proud’ of Scotland career as he announces rugby retirement
Fraser Brown declared himself “hugely proud” of his Scotland career as he announced his retirement from professional rugby.
The 34-year-old Glasgow hooker has not played since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament while playing for the World XV against the Barbarians at Twickenham last May and he has now conceded defeat in his bid to return to action.
Brown won 61 Scotland caps, with the first of them coming against Italy in 2013 and the last in the Six Nations match at home to Ireland in 2023, the same game incidentally in which Stuart Hogg won his final cap. The front-rower went to both the 2015 and 2019 World Cups.
“When you have a serious injury like I did with an ACL at the end of your career, it is always going to be hard to come back from,” Brown told Scottish Rugby.
“That probably made it a little easier to announce my retirement but it’s still a surreal and strange feeling.
“I’m hugely proud to have played so many times for Scotland during my career. To get one cap was great, but then my second one came against the All Blacks at Murrayfield which was such a special occasion.
“To reach 50 caps was a big moment as I had to deal with a lot of injuries throughout my career and to be part of the growth process of the team which has resulted in where they are now has been cool.”
At club level, Brown made 141 appearances for Glasgow after joining from Edinburgh in 2011.
The hooker helped them win the Guinness Pro12 in 2015 with victory over Munster in the final in Belfast, while his last appearance for Warriors proved to be last season’s Challenge Cup final defeat by Toulon in Dublin.
Glasgow head coach Franco Smith paid tribute to Brown, saying: “Fraser is the epitome of a modern professional and someone who should serve as a role model to any young player starting their journey.
“The respect with which he is held, not only within the Glasgow Warriors community but within the wider rugby family, should serve to underline the achievements he has earned throughout his career and the manner in which he has achieved them.
“His work ethic and determination to bring the best out of the people and players around him has been clear to all throughout his career.
“I wish him the very best for whatever comes next and I know he will apply that same work ethic and determination that made him one of this club’s most distinguished Warriors.”
Brown becomes the second experienced Scotland front-rower to announce his retirement in the space of a month after Edinburgh prop WP Nel recently revealed he would be hanging his boots up at the end of this season.
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