Wales captain gives insight into players' minds as game faces huge moment
'I would be getting asked questions that I had absolutely no idea the answer to,' explained former Cymru skipper Ellis Jenkins.
Former Wales captain Ellis Jenkins revealed how he dealt with uncertainty as a regional captain.
(Image: © Huw Evans Picture Agency )
Former Wales captain Ellis Jenkins has revealed what players will be thinking after another colossal moment in Welsh rugby.
News was broken by WalesOnline on Saturday night that the Welsh Rugby Union were expected to cut the number of regions down to three, with the days of four equally-funded clubs over.
In response to this news, Ospreys and Scarlets, who did not sign the Professional Rugby Agreement, put out a statement of their own criticisng the WRU's U-turn on their stance on four regions and slammed them for creating more "destabilising and debilitating uncertainty".
Speaking on the latest episode of BBC Scrum V's podcast, former Cardiff flanker Jenkins explained what it will be like for players going through this. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby
Of course, Jenkins was captain of Cardiff when players in Wales went through a period of contractual uncertainty in 2023. Wales Six Nations players at the time walked out of a dinner at the Parkgate Hotel and very nearly took strike action ahead of the game against England - the WRU's biggest moneymaker.
"The majority of the players won't understand a thing that's going on," began Jenkins.
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"They will look to the senior players or the more 'in the know' players for answers. I found myself, obviously, as Cardiff captain, as one of those.
"I would be getting asked questions that I had absolutely no idea the answer to. It falls on you to speak to the coaches, and the majority of the time the coaches wouldn't know either.
"You'd speak to the chief executives, the people in charge and try to get some sort of answers to: One - put the boys at ease so that they can get on with training and focus on the rugby.
"But also, more importantly, be honest.
"There's no point putting the boys at ease if you're just filling them with false promises and false answers. It became very difficult. There have been very different scenarios over the years. It seems to be one after the other.
"Every time you seem to put one to bed another thing pops up to challenge it."
You can watch the clip below.
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Welsh rugby is now entering a precarious period, and it comes at an inconvenient time.
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Scarlets have just qualified for the play-offs of the United Rugby Championship and Wales are heading to Japan for a summer tour in a matter of weeks.
Rugby in Wales is now set for seismic change, levels of which haven't been seen since the inception of the regional system in 2003.
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