Cardiff Blues prop Jenkins became Wales’s most capped prop at the Rugby World Cup when he overtook his regional coach Dai Young’s tally of 51 caps with his 52nd appearance against Fiji in Nantes.
WRU Audio: Listen to an interview with new Wales captain Gethin Jenkins
WRU Audio: Wales Caretaker Coach Nigel Davies explains his choice of captain
He takes over the captain’s arm band from clubmate Gareth Thomas, who led Wales for the 21st time on his 100th appearance in Wales’s final 2007 World Cup Pool match.
“Anyone who knows or has worked with Gethin will tell you he sets high standards for himself and those around him,” said Wales Caretaker Coach Nigel Davies.
“We all talk about looking after the ‘one per cents’ as the way to get ahead in elite sport and Gethin typifies the professional sportsman who lets nothing go by him.
“He’s a 26-year-old with 50 caps, two World Cups and a British Lions tour under his belt which shows his dedication in itself, and you only have to look at his ability to contribute to both sides of the front row to know you have something special as a player.
“For our meeting with South Africa we need a captain who will galvanize the squad, someone who every player will be proud to stand in line behind and someone who strives for perfection in himself and those around him. Gethin fits the bill.”
Jenkins, who celebrates his 27th birthday on Saturday November17th, will become only the 11th front row forward to skipper Wales since World War IIÂ – and only the fourth prop in that time in succession to Duncan Jones, his regional coach Dai Young and John Lloyd.
“When Nigel asked me to be his captain against South Africa I have to admit it came as a bit of a surprise and I did take some time to think about it, but there was only ever going to be one answer,” said the Pontypridd-born Jenkins, who made his international debut against Romania in 2002.
“It’s obviously a huge honour, probably the biggest in Welsh sport, but I wanted to be sure I could do justice to the responsibility, my goal as a player is to do everything to the highest of standards and this is no different.
“I had a chat with may dad, a few of the players who are close to me and with Dai Young, who has very much been there and done that, and in the end there was no way I was going to miss the opportunity.
“I just try to be the best team player I can be, it’s a huge honour and just to think of the players that have gone before me is pretty awe inspiring in itself.
“I’ve been in the Wales squad for the last five years and have played with some great players and also with some truly inspirational captains, but if I can achieve anything near what Alfie (Gareth Thomas) has achieved in terms of his role as a leader then I’ll be a happy man.
“If I can emulate his calmness under pressure and his ability to consistently raise standards or his leadership qualities and knack of diffusing difficult situations on the pitch, then I’ll be doing a pretty good job.
“Leading the team out at the Millennium Stadium, probably in front of a packed house of home fans and against the current Rugby World Cup champions will be a pretty special way to win my first cap as captain.
“It’s their first game since winning the Cup, so the scalps aren’t going to come much bigger than that for at least the next four years.
“As a team we are all relishing the opportunity to get back into it so quickly after the disappointment of our World Cup exit – when we pull on the red jersey again the memories will be refreshed, we will all still be hurting and I can’t think of any better way to ease the pain than to take it out on the Springboks.”
Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues)
Date of Birth: 17/11/80 – Pontypridd
Height: 6′ 2″ (188m)
Weight: 18st 9lbs (118kg)
International Record: 52 caps
Cap number: 1006
Previous Region/Clubs: Pontypridd, Celtic Warriors
WELSH CAPTAINS 1881-2007 (post RWC 2007)
| No | Name | P | W | D | L | From-To | Club |
| 1 | J Bevan (JAMES) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1881 | Cambridge Univ |
| 2 | C P Lewis (CHARLES) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1882-83 | Llandovery |
| 3 | C H Newman (CHARLES) | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1884-87 | Newport |
| 4 | H J Simpson (JOE) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1884 | Cardiff |
| 5 | F E Hancock (FRANK) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1886 | Cardiff |
| 6 | R Gould (BOBBY) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1887 | Newport |
| 7 | T Clapp (TOM) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1887-88 | Newport |
| 8 | A F Hill (ARTHUR) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1888-94 | Cardiff |
| 9 | A J Gould (ARTHUR) | 18 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 1889-97 | Newport |
| 10 | W H Bowen (William) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1891 | Swansea |
| 11 | W H Thomas (William) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1891 | Llanelli |
| 12 | W J Bancroft (BILLY) | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 1898-1901 | Swansea |
| 13 | E G Nicholls (GWYN) | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 1902-06 | Cardiff |
| 14 | T W Pearson (TOM) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1903 | Newport |
| 15 | G L Lloyd (LLEWELLYN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1903 | Newport |
| 16 | W M Llewellyn (WILLIE) | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1904-05 | Newport |
| 17 | R M Owen (DICKIE) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1907-12 | Swansea |
| 18 | W J Trew (BILLY) | 14 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 1907-13 | Swansea |
| 19 | R T Gabe (RHYS) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1907 | Cardiff |
| 20 | A F Harding (ARTHUR) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1908 | London Welsh |
| 21 | G Travers (GEORGE) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1908 | Pill Harriers |
| 22 | E Morgan (TEDDY) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1908 | London Welsh |
| 23 | H B Winfield (BERT) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1908 | Cardiff |
| 24 | R A Gibbs (REGGIE) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1910 | Cardiff |
| 25 | J L Williams (JOHNNIE) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1911 | Cardiff |
| 26 | J Bancroft (JACK) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1912 | Swansea |
| 27 | T H Vile (TOMMY) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1912-21 | Newport |
| 28 | J P Jones (JOHN) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1913 | Pontypool |
| 29 | Rev J A Davies (ALBAN) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1914 | Llanelli |
| 30 | G Stephens (GLYN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1919 | Neath |
| 31 | H Uzzell (HARRY) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1920 | Newport |
| 32 | J J Wetter (JACK) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1921-24 | Newport |
| 33 | T Parker (TOM) | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1921-23 | Swansea |
| 34 | J M C Lewis (CLEM) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1923 | Cardiff |
| 35 | A Jenkins (ALBERT) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1923-28 | Llanelli |
| 36 | J Rees (JOE) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1924 | Swansea |
| 37 | 37 J Whitfield (JACK) | 1 | 0Â | 0Â | 1Â | 1924 | Newport |
| 38 | W R Harding (ROWE) | 4 | 2Â | 1Â | 1Â | 1924-28 | Swansea |
| 39 | T Johnson (TOM) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1Â | 1925 | Cardiff |
| 40 | S Morris (STEPHEN) | 1 | 0Â | 0Â | 1Â | 1925 | Cross Keys |
| 41 | R A Cornish (ARTHUR) | 2 | 1Â | 0Â | 1 | 1925-26 | Cardiff |
| 42 | W I Jones (IDRIS) | 1 | 0Â | 0Â | 1Â | 1925 | Llanelli |
| 43 | W J Delahay (BOBBY) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1926 | Cardiff |
| 44 | B R Turnbull (LOU) | 1 | 0Â | 0Â | 1Â | 1927 | Cardiff |
| 45 | B O Male (OSSIE) | 3 | 1Â | 0Â | 2Â | 1927-28 | Cardiff |
| 46 | W C Powell (WICK) | 2 | 1 | 0Â | 1Â | 1927 | London Welsh |
| 47 | I E Jones (IVOR) | 3 | 0Â | 0Â | 3Â | 1927-30 | Llanelli |
| 48 | W G Morgan (GUY) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1929-30 | Swansea |
| 49 | H M Bowcott (HARRY) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1930 | Cardiff |
| 50 | J Bassett (JACK) | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1930-32 | Penarth |
| 51 | W G Thomas (WATCYN) | 3 | 1 | 0Â | 2Â | 1933 | Swansea |
| 52 | J R Evans (JOHN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1934 | Newport |
| 53 | E C Davey (CLAUDE) | 8 | 5Â | 1Â | 2Â | 1934-37 | Swansea |
| 54 | J I Rees (IDWAL) | 3 | 1Â | 1Â | 1Â | 1936-37 | Swansea |
| 55 | W Wooller (WILF) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1937-39 | Cardiff |
| 56 | C W Jones (CLIFF) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1938 | Cardiff |
| 57 | H Tanner (HAYDN) | 12 | 5Â | 1Â | 6Â | 1947-49 | Cardiff |
| 58 | W E Tamplin (BILLY) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1947 | Cardiff |
| 59 | J A Gwilliam (JOHN) | 13 | 9Â | 1 | 3 | 1950-53 | Edin W/Glouc |
| 60 | J Matthews (JACK) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1951 | Cardiff |
| 61 | B L Williams (BLEDDYN) | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1953-55 | Cardiff |
| 62 | J R G Stephens (REES) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1954-57 | Neath |
| 63 | W R Willis (REX) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1954-55 | Cardiff |
| 64 | K J Jones (KEN) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1954 | Newport |
| 65 | C I Morgan (CLIFF) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1956 | Cardiff |
| 66 | M C Thomas (MALCOLM) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1957 | Newport |
| 67 | R C C Thomas (CLEM) | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1958-59 | Swansea |
| 68 | R H Williams (RHYS) | 1 | 0Â | 0Â | 1Â | 1960 | Llanelli |
| 69 | B V Meredith (BRYN) | 4 | 2Â | 1Â | 1 | 1960-62 | Newport |
| 70 | D O Brace (ONLLWYN) | 2 | 2 | 0Â | 0 | 1960-61 | Llanelli |
| 71 | T J Davies (TERRY) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1960-61 | Llanelli |
| 72 | L H Williams (LLOYD) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1961-62 | Cardiff |
| 73 | D C T Rowlands (CLIVE) | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 1963-65 | Pontypool |
| 74 | A E I Pask (ALUN) | 6 | 3Â | 0 | 3 | 1966-67 | Abertillery |
| 75 | D Watkins (DAVID) | 3 | 1Â | 0Â | 2 | 1967 | Newport |
| 76 | N R Gale (NORMAN) | 2 | 0 | 1Â | 1Â | 1967-68 | Llanelli |
| 77 | G O Edwards (GARETH) | 13 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 1968-74 | Cardiff |
| 78 | S J Dawes (JOHN) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1Â | 1968-71 | London Welsh |
| 79 | B Price (BRIAN) | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1969 | Newport |
| 80 | D J Lloyd (JOHN) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1972 | Bridgend |
| 81 | W D Thomas (DELME) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1972 | Llanelli |
| 82 | A J L Lewis (ARTHUR) | 3 | 2Â | 0 | 1 | 1973 | Ebbw Vale |
| 83 | T M Davies (MERVYN) | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1975-76 | Swansea |
| 84 | P Bennett (PHIL) | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1977-78 | Llanelli |
| 85 | T J Cobner (TERRY) | 1 | 0 | 0Â | 1Â | 1978 | Pontypool |
| 86 | T G R Davies (GERALD) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1978 | Cardiff |
| 87 | J P R Williams (JOHN) | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1978-79 | Bridgend |
| 88 | J Squire (JEFF) | 6 | 3 | 0Â | 3 | 1980-81 | Pontypool |
| 89 | S P Fenwick (STEVE) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1980-81 | Bridgend |
| 90 | W G Davies (GARETH) | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1981-82 | Cardiff |
| 91 | E T Butler (EDDIE) | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1983-84 | Pontypool |
| 92 | M J Watkins (MIKE) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1984 | Newport |
| 93 | T D Holmes (TERRY) | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1985 | Cardiff |
| 94 | D F Pickering (DAVID) | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1986-87 | Llanelli |
| 95 | R D Moriarty (RICHARD) | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1986-87 | Swansea |
| 96 | W J James (BILLY) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1987 | Aberavon |
| 97 | J Davies (JONATHAN) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1987-88 | Llanelli |
| 98 | B Bowen (BLEDDYN) | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1987-88 | SW Police |
| 99 | R Norster (ROBERT) | 1 | 0Â | 0Â | 1Â | 1988 | Cardiff |
| 100 | P H Thorburn (PAUL) | 10 | 1Â | 1Â | 8Â | 1989-91 | Neath |
| 101 | R N Jones (ROBERT) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1989-90 | Swansea |
| 102 | K H Phillips (KEVIN) | 2 | 2Â | 0Â | 0Â | 1990 | Neath |
| 103 | I C Evans (IEUAN) | 28 | 13 | 0 | 15 | 1991-95 | Llanelli |
| 104 | G O Llewellyn (GARETH) | 7 | 5Â | 0Â | 2Â | 1993-95 | Neath |
| 105 | M R Hall (MIKE) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1995 | Cardiff |
| 106 | J M Humphreys (JONATHAN) | 19 | 6 | 0 | 13 | 1995-97,03 | Cardiff/Bath |
| 107 | N G Davies (NIGEL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1996 | Llanelli |
| 108 | I S Gibbs (SCOTT) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1997 | Swansea |
| 109 | R G Jones (GWYN) | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1997 | Cardiff |
| 110 | P John (PAUL) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1997 | Pontypridd |
| 111 | R Howley (ROBERT) | 22 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 1998-99 | Cardiff |
| 112 | K Jones (KINGSLEY) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1998 | Ebbw Vale |
| 113 | D Young (DAVID) | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 2000-1 | Cardiff |
| 114 | M Taylor (MARK) | 4 | 4Â | 0 | 0 | 2000, 2005 | Swansea/Sale |
| 115 | L S Quinnell (SCOTT) | 7 | 2Â | 0Â | 5Â | 2000-2 | Llanelli |
| 116 | A P Moore (ANDY) | 2 | 2Â | 0Â | 0Â | 2001 | Swansea |
| 117 | C L Charvis (COLIN) | 22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 2002-3-4 | Swansea/Newcastle |
| 118 | M E Williams (MARTYN) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2003-4 | Cardiff |
| 119 | G Thomas (GARETH) | 21 | 9 | 0 | 12 | 2003-4-5-6-7 | Celtic W / Toulouse / Blues |
| 120 | S Jones (STEPHEN) | 8 | 1 | 1Â | 6 | 2003-6-7 | Llanelli Scarlets |
| 121 | M Davies (MEFIN) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2003 | Celtic W |
| 122 | M Owen (MICHAEL) | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2005-6 | NG Dragons |
| 123 | D Jones (DUNCAN) | 3 | 1 | 0Â | 2 | 2006 | Ospreys |
| 124 | D Peel (DWAYNE) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2007 | Llanelli Scarlets |
Total captains: 124
Total games: 581
Total wins: 300
Total draws: 27
Total losses: 254
