Wales youngster thought Warren Gatland’s call was a teammate’s ‘prank’

Wales youngster Dafydd Jenkins admitted that he thought that an all-important phone from Warren Gatland was a prank.

Jenkins was left shaking after the call that elevated him to lofty heights. He is set to become Wales’ youngest captain in 56 years when he skippers Wales during the 2024 Six Nations and leads his country for the first time against Scotland next weekend.

The moment Gatland called

Not since a 20-year-old scrum-half Gareth Edwards skippered Wales during the 1968 Five Nations has there been such a youthful captain.

However, he has revealed that he was not entirely sure he was speaking to the Wales head coach when he received the call from Gatland offering him the role.

“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,” Jenkins recalled.

“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.”

Jenkins gets the opportunity to skipper the side with 2023 World Cup co-captains Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake, both sidelined for the Six Nations. The pair, along with ex-captain Ken Owens and former British and Irish Lions skipper Sam Warburton, have all since got in touch with him to offer their congratulations.

Rugby Background

Jenkins’ father was an outstanding back-row forward who gained Wales A recognition at a representative level, while his grandfather played on 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 heads into the Six Nations with just 12 Test caps and features in a highly-competitive position with Will Rowlands and Adam Beard competing for a starting role.

However, 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.

“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.”

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