Rowan Jenkins has received the Adam Jones seal of approval after his efforts for Cardiff Rugby in the Heineken Champions Cup over the past two weekends.
With the Arms Park club hit by Covid-quarantine issues and injuries, the semi-professional from Aberavon answered an OS to face Toulouse and Harlequins in European rugby’s top-tier event.
And in both games he emerged with credit.
Harlequins scrum specialist Jones had an opportunity to watch the 30-year-old at close quarters at The Stoop over the weekend and was impressed by what he saw.
“I thought he did really well,” said Jones.
“It’s tough to step up from club rugby (in Wales) to face Toulouse and then us.
“But Rowan and the other boys did themselves proud.
“They showed they could have a crack at this level. Given their inexperience relative to ours, I thought they had plenty to be pleased about.”
Jones had lined up a post-match beer with Jenkins but the get-together didn’t happen amid concerns over the Omicron variant. Quins emerged 43-17 winners but Cardiff proved competitive despite missing in the region of 40 players.
“I think Gruff Rees and Richie Rees and the senior players led things really well for them,” said Jones.
“But credit the academy boys and semi pros who came in.
“They tried as hard as they could and will have taken a lot from the whole experience. I was chuffed for them. It was brilliant to see.”
The match against Harlequins had taken place only 48 hours earlier, but Jenkins could have been forgiven for believing the noise, fury and drama of The Stoop encounter had happened a lifetime ago as rugby’s groundsman of the moment tended the pitch at Aberavon RFC.
A chill wind whipped through the Talbot Athletic Ground on Monday morning with Jenkins assessing the state of the field after the Wizards’ home game with Newport.
He broke off to field a call from WalesOnline.
How did he reflect on a fortnight that saw him catapulted into the professional rugby limelight with appearances against two of European rugby’s biggest club hitters?
“It went by really quickly,” he said.
“I did my best to take it in my stride and soak up as much enjoyment and atmosphere as I could, as well as taking pointers from some of the senior Cardiff players.
“But it was back to normality on Monday morning — back in the cold and seeing to the field at Aberavon. But I have no problem with that. I enjoy that as well.”
He continued: “The Aberavon boys played Newport over the weekend and after any game there’s a fair bit of clean-up and pitch-repair.
“Steve, our team manager, is always there.
“I had a quick catch-up with him. It’s just normality — going again and all that.
“There’s a triple-blade machine that we use to roll, cut and repair the field.
“In this sort of weather the grass isn’t as quick to grow, but obviously it softens in the wet and the cold. The pitch scratches up and there are always indentations that need to be flattened out. We just have to repair as best as we can.
“We pride ourselves on doing as good a job as possible.”
Jenkins is on record as describing the match with rugby aristocrats of Toulouse as surreal, with the loosehead having been running out in the Welsh Premiership in his previous outing.
There’s a case for feeling he might have found the whole two weeks scarcely believable, as if it the experience had happened to someone else, what with starts against the reigning European champions and the Gallagher Premiership title holders, an appearance on former England prop Brian Moore’s Full Contact podcast and other media interviews with journalists eager to learn about the full-time groundsman who put normal life on hold to take on some of the best the northern hemisphere game can offer?
“It’s been different,” he laughed.
“You were seeing faces who you normally watch on TV.
“The previous week I was on the same stage as Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack. Last Saturday I got the chance to see how quick Marcus Smith was in real life. He went around me at one point, so, yes, he is quick.
“The only thing I’d wish is that I’d have had a bit longer to achieve fitness levels so I could have been more proactive around the pitch.
“I tired quicker than I would have liked, but there was only much I could have done, given the limited preparation time we had together.
“Overall, I loved it.
“As long as I didn’t disappoint, that’s the main thing.
“It’s been a big experience.
“Even people ringing you up from the media wanting to know about yourself and how things went — those kinds of things do not happen every day to semi-pro players. People have been great and you just try to enjoy it.”
He said the exchange with Adam Jones had come out of the blue. “He got in touch through Twitter, saying ‘well done against Toulouse’ and hopefully we could have a beer after the Harlequins game.
“But with the way it was going, and so many games being off because of Omicron and all that, we were bubbled after the game.
“We stayed in our changing room, had a beer or two among ourselves, had some food and popped back on the bus.
“I got in touch to say sorry I’d missed him.
“He was very complimentary about the way things went in the game.
“It said a lot about him that he went out of his way to get in touch with me. He was one of best tightheads to play at international level for Wales but he seems very grounded.”
Jenkins has long been rated one of the top front rowers in the Welsh Premiership, known not just for his scrummaging but also for his work around the field. One observer suggested at one point he could have developed into one of the finest props Aberavon have had in their entire history.
A short spell with the Ospreys gave him a taste of the professional scene. Has his experience this month sharpened his appetite for more?
“I always had that dream to play professionally when I was young,” he said.
“But I’ve had a taste of professional rugby previously, so it’s not as if I haven’t experienced it before.
“I think there comes a point where everyone has to look at the long term.
“As you get on in life you have to grow up a bit.
““I’m expecting a little one as well, so as I get older I have to be more mature about my decisions. Never say never, then, but you have to be aware that professional rugby can be uncertain in terms of budgets and stuff. You don’t know what’s going to come across the table.”
There’s also his attachment to Aberavon to be factored into the equation, with the west Walian having played more than 250 games for the Wizards.
“Playing in the Heineken Champions Cup was brilliant, but Aberavon are great to play for, too,” he said.
“They’re a warm, family club with brilliant people who wish you well when you go and can’t wait to have you back.
“I never forget how fortunate I have been to be part of the club.”
Such humility does Jenkins proud.
With it he was off to continue his shift at the Talbot Athletic Ground.
What a fortnight he’s had.
