He was sent across the Severn Bridge by Wales caretaker coach Nigel Davies to home in on centre Tom Cheeseman to check on the Welshman’s progress and sound out Wales qualified stand-off Ryan Davies to discover whether he was interested in being considered.
Neil Jenkins said:”It was very good of Bath to let us in to see if Tom was ready to step up to the mark for Wales.
“He is clearly a great prospect and we must make sure that players like Tom possess all the skills we require.
“I was allowed to join Tom and his teammates on the field and I learnt a lot about where he is right now as a player.
“I was also able to take a look at the South African Butch James which helps me assess where the very top world competition is regarding skills levels right now.
“We must stay in touch with all the Welsh qualified talent out there and I am determined to do everything I can to make these boys better players who can battle hard for places in our starting line up.
“I am constantly learning and I will watch, look and listen wherever I can to improve myself as a coach which, in turn, helps Wales.”
Neil took part in two sessions at the English club before the South Africa game and one further session involving Tom at another Bath workout since the international.
His role with Wales takes him out of the national squad training camp to work closely with all four Regions with one priority being to target players for consideration within the Welsh team succession plans. The trips to Bath were part of that continuing role.
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Wales caretaker coach Nigel Davies said:”This is a vital part of our work towards creating robust and meaningful succession plans for Wales.
“I sent Neil to Bath with a specific aim and we were then able to take a decision on where Tom was in terms of possible selection for the squad against South Africa and for the future.
“We have also considered sending Neil up to Sale on a similar exercise and we could well be visiting other clubs too.
“There are only a limited number of players available for us at the Wales regions so it is vitally important that we assess all the Welsh qualified players we know about.
“I am very grateful to Bath for allowing Neil to take part in their sessions.
“As a national coach I have travelled to South Africa and New Zealand to work with teams and it certainly helps us learn about what other people are doing. It is a helpful process.”
Neil Jenkins plans to return to Bath in the future as part of his Wales role to continue the assessment of Wales qualified players.
A Bath Rugby spokesperson said:We have been delighted to welcome Neil here to Bath. Tom Cheeseman, in particular, has benefited greatly. Neil will have learnt a lot from seeing how we do things and it has been great for us to watch him at work.”
