When you are looking for a player who lives up to the cliches, 'war horse, tough guy, stalwart' to name but a few, look no further than Welsh prop Gethin Jenkins.
Jenkins has at 29 earned 70 caps for his country and played in five British and Irish Lions Tests, the last of them coming this year against South Africa.
Jenkins recently suffered a cracked cheekbone and had to undergo shoulder surgery during the summer, but that has not stopped the big guy from playing in back to back games over the past few months.
How does he keep going?
"It's been tough for me," admitted Jenkins to Wales online
"In the first-half of all the games I've been all right and I've been getting around the field fine.
"I have just been finding my legs are going after 60 or 70 minutes because I am not used to the intensity. Samoa last Friday was only my fourth game back.
"Even in training you are looking around and thinking 'is it only me who is tired?' It's not being used to the intensity of the week's training and then playing a game.
"You can do as much rehab and gym work as you want, but there is nothing quite like playing a game. The last two games have been pretty fast and intense.
"Ideally, I would loved to have had three or four games before playing the All Blacks, but that wasn't the case, and I always knew that.
"It is just nice to be out there playing for your country. You give your all, and if you get dragged off, then fair enough.
"I've played the full 80 minutes in both Tests, so I am glad of the match time to be honest.
"And I was made captain in my first game back for the Blues, which took a lot of the attention away. I wasn't thinking about my shoulder so much, it was more thinking about leading the team and responsibility that comes with it.
"Once I got through that game against Sale, my confidence in the shoulder got better and better."
That all sounds like a holiday considering what awaits Jenkins in the form of an experienced, battle hardened Argentinian front row this weekend.
"They are a very experienced front-row," stated Jenkins. "I think everyone realises that."
"We respect that, and we know we have got to put in a good performance on Saturday.
"Their forward power has got them where they are, together with a good kicking game. The way rugby is going, that's very important.
"It's going to be tough for us, the forwards are going to have to work really hard. Argentina are a top team; they are above us in the world rankings.
"All packs are powerful, it's just they play a bit more through their forwards. They tend to keep it a lot tighter than other teams do."
Wales forward coach Robin McBryde reasons he has a very special player in his team, regardless of who the opposition might bew.
"I think he's a one-off," said McBryde.
"Going into the autumn series, he said himself he wanted to be worked hard to prepare him for the first game against New Zealand, and for a player to have that level of honesty is fantastic.
"He is phenomenal. There are not many forwards across the board who read the game as well as Gethin does.
"And to be able to do that from a front-row aspect, where you are really at the coalface, and still be able to read and recognise what is needed in attack and defence is incredible."
Comments
aeddanberry says...
best in his position intrnationally atm
Posted 04:20 20th November 2009