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Model pro Dafydd Jenkins set to give Exeter a boost

Exeter Chiefs' Welsh lock Dafydd Jenkins (L) stretches to catch the ball for an Exeter line out ahead of Toulon's French flanker Esteban Abadie (R) during the European Champions Cup rugby union match between Rugby Club Toulonnais (Toulon) and the Exeter Chief's at the Stade Mayol in Toulon, south-eastern France on December 9, 2023. (Photo by CHRISTOPHE SIMON / AFP) (Photo by CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty Images)

Wales international Dafydd Jenkins is fit and available for selection and could make his seasonal bow for Exeter at home to Toulouse in the second round of the Investec Champions Cup on Sunday.

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The recently turned 22-year-old hasn’t played for club or country yet this term having undergone surgery on his knee and shoulder.

The Exeter captain, who led Wales earlier this year, picked up the knee problem while on international duty this summer in Australia and missed the Autumn Nations Series as well as the Chiefs’ first 11 games of the season.

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However, Chiefs Director of Rugby Rob Baxter confirmed during his media briefing on Thursday that Jenkins is in the mix for the Toulouse clash, and spoke highly about the impact the lock has on and off the field.

“It may be an odd thing to say but he just gets on with things. 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.

“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.

“I think those are the kind of qualities I like to see, and he is a very good rugby player. 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.”

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Head-to-Head

Last 3 Meetings

Wins
1
Draws
0
Wins
2
Average Points scored
18
37
First try wins
33%
Home team wins
100%

Henry Slade and Christ Tshiunza are also available having had their mandatory weeks off following international duty, but Argentina lock Franco Molina will sit this weekend out. Olly Woodburn, meanwhile, is “pretty much back in full training”.

Baxter is pleased that he can finally see some light at the end of the tunnel ahead of a busy festive period,

“We’re getting there. What we kind of need is to get the group to stay together and be, hopefully, a little bit injury-free for a while. Obviously, we wouldn’t be able to play that same group week in, week out but it allows you to make the changes you want to make rather than making the changes that you are forced into making,” he said.

“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.”

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Nickers 2 hours ago
It's time for the All Blacks to break up Jordie Barrett and Rieko Ioane

No chance Ardie was the best player in 2024. Sititi or Lomax, with Vaai and Ofa "most improved". Ardie was good, but not as good as 2023, he looked decidedly undercooked coming back from Japan and wasn't anywhere near his best for the England, and didn't hit his straps until the NH tour.


Jordan should definitely be back on the wing. His decision making was terrible, he lost the ball so many times in contact trying to push a crazy pass, 4 or 5 times in one game, that insane quick throw in hospital pass, numerous other moments where he took the worst option available. Just as much promising ball died with him as it did with Ioane. I don't know if he was "overplaying" trying to make a case for being the second playmaker but he is definitely not that.


Jordie needs to be used properly. He is not a battering ram, or a DDA style 4th loose forward. He is a genuine playmaker who can come into first receiver and have DMac/BB playing off him very comfortably as he been able to do seamlessly at Leinster with only 10 days prep, with the addition of being a strong ball carrier. He was used in this role successfully by Schmidt and it gave the backline a lot more variation and adaptability. At the moment they look like Warren Gatland is the attack coach which is embarrassing when you look at the riches available. Leinster have already made better use of JB in one half than Razor and co did all year.


Reiko has not been able to gel with anyone on attack despite playing alongside Barrett, DMac, JB, Jordan etc.. for years. It is not going to happen and he needs to be jettisoned. A 5 on 2 overlap to win the game went begging against France when BB and Reiko were unable to coordinate simple running lines between them. BB very clearly wanted to take the ball to the line and put Reiko through a big gap, but Reiko was hanging back on a holding thinking the ball was going to ALB (which was probably the better play) and in the end ALB decides to run into the gap and BB, Reiko, and ALB ended up within a few feet of each other, almost stationary, with the ball being knocked on by Reiko after a terrible pass from Barrett that was designed for Ioane steaming through the gap rather than standing beside him. The French defence made such a bad read that had Reiko caught the ball, even while stationary, we probably still would have scored. It's the kind of thing a social team that doesn't train would have run in easily, yet B.Barrett and Reiko with 200+ tests between them, probably having played 70+ together were clueless about. Reiko's defence is excellent, but he has become such a drag on attack that he is definitely a net negative.

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