Commenting on a barely believable sequence of 44 successful goal-kicks, Neil Jenkins could not have been more modest, saying: “It’s my job. Praising me for it is like praising the postman for delivering 44 letters in a row.”
Fair play.
Jenkins didn’t have to rise at 3.30am every day, drag a heavy sack around the streets in all weathers and deal with the permanently vexed Jack Russell in No. 42.
But, still, 44 successful kicks on the bounce — wow.
Just as he deserved every bit of acclaim that came his way back in 2004, so Rhys Priestland is entitled to applause after setting a new English Premiership goalkicking record.
Jonny Wilkinson and Mark van Gisbergen had previously shared the best mark with streaks of 28 successful shots at goal.
But Priestland forged clear of both when Bath won 23-22 at Northampton Saints. His big moment came on the stroke of half-time when he converted Zac Mercer’s try to extend his run to 29 stretching back to November 21.
He went on to bisect the posts three more times to hoist the record to 32 and counting.
As with Jenkins all those years ago, Priestland declined to milk the plaudits, saying: “I would have given the record up for the win today.
“I know you expect me to say that but I genuinely would.
“I am pleased to get it because it shows how hard I work on it — kicking is not something that came easy to me.
“At the start of my career my kicking probably cost teams I played for, so it is good for me to knock them over now and keep building points. If I had missed one today we wouldn’t have won the game.”
Bath will miss him when he returns to Wales with Cardiff Blues in the sumner. He won the Gallagher Premiership’s Golden Boot award last term after contributing 200 points for his club, and his accuracy in front of goal has been a thing of wonder in this campaign.
On social media he was described by one contributor as “world-class”, while someone else said he’d “never been given enough credit within Wales”.
Wayne Pivac did actually ask if Wales could call on Priestland for the Six Nations, but he was turned down, with the Professional Rugby Board said to have made that call.
But the 50-cap fly-half has continued to deliver impressively for Bath, with his cool-headed displays steering the club to a number of important wins.
