The Wales flanker lifted the European Rugby Challenge Cup with Cardiff Blues in their final clash with Gloucester in Bilbao and is also co-captain for his country’s summer tour.
Jenkins is one of two skippers chosen by Warren Gatland – Cory Hill is the other – for the clash with South Africa in Washington DC and the two Tests with Argentina.
Here, the all-action back-rower looks ahead to facing the Springboks and Pumas…
Q: You’ve come into the Wales camp on a bit of a high?
Ellis Jenkins: “It’s nice when you’re winning.
“When you’re losing, you have the opportunity to prove yourself the next week and when you’re winning, you’ve got an opportunity to consolidate every week.
“That’s what we’ll be looking for now. The Scarlets are a team that are used to winning and we’ve got three Tests and we want to win all three. That’s the mindset we want to be in.”
Q: Do you feel that this is a countdown period towards the World Cup?
EJ: “It works in four-year cycles. It’s well-documented that teams are gearing up for the World Cup.
“Lots of the senior players that went on the Lions tour last year have been left out this summer to get a full pre-season and it gives an opportunity then for other people to step into the roles and make a case for selection for the World Cup.
“It’s three games and it’s three opportunities to show what you can do and show that you can play, compete and perform well at this level. It’s something we’re all looking forward to”
Q: Is next year your World Cup given your age profile, or is it the first of one, two and three?
EJ: “It’s tough to tell. Gats spoke about there being some players that are in a really good position for the World Cup based on their form over the last there years and their qualities as players.
“But, as we saw at the last World Cup, things can change up until the last minute. You had boys going down in the warm-up games and even in the first game of the World Cup.
“It’s about trying to get your name in the picture and working your way up the pecking order as much as you can I suppose.”
Q: Are you reinforcing established credentials or do you feel you still have to emerge?
EJ: “I feel like you’re always trying to prove yourself. Being in the environment is obviously nice and then once you’ve been in here a little bit, you want it to be a regular thing.
“And then when it is a regular thing, you want to be one of the stand-out players. I don’t think you’re ever satisfied with where you are, I think you’re always trying to improve your standing as a player within the squad.”
Q: The Welsh back-row is so competitive, but that’s fantastic as well?
EJ: “Strength in depth is always a good thing. When you get the opportunity, you’re going to have to take it because there are other times where campaigns will start and you may not be injured, but you might not be in form. When you get the chance you have to take it.”
Q: What will it feel like to captain Wales?
EJ: “It’ll be a big honour. The main thing for me is you get put in positions for things like captaincy based on what you’ve done, so it’s not about trying to change anything.
“It’s about earning the respect of the squad I guess, leading by example, and making good decisions when you get the opportunity.”
Q: You’ve got a good role model in Sam Warburton, he tends to lead by example?
EJ: “Yes and you’ve got Alun Wyn (Jones) who is the same as well but he’s maybe a bit more vocal – the kind of bloke who just leads from the front. Cory is the same, he just goes about his business, gets on with it, and sets an example for other players to follow.”
Q: What about playing in Washington?
EJ: “It’ll be different. The game is emerging in America. We’ve got Blaine (Scully), the USA captain with us (at the Cardiff Blues), and Cam Dolan was with us last season as well.
“I know some of the American boys and they’re excited about it over there.
“It’ll be good. It’ll be interesting to see what sort of South Africa team we get but they’ll be big, physical and impressive regardless of what side they bring.
“So it’s about making sure we’re as prepared and ready to go.”
Q: How will the co-captaincy work? Do you do one speech and then Cory does it the following day?
EJ: “Cory and I get on really well. We have the same sort of approach to the captaincy I think.
“We’ve known each other for years and we’re not afraid to offend each other. If we disagree on anything then we can talk it out.
“But I’m sure that disagreements will be few and far between. We’ll just get on with it and try to lead by example.”
Q: How did you find out about the captaincy?
EJ: “I was out for breakfast with a couple of the boys and the team got announced on Twitter and one of the boys told me. I thought he was joking with me at first.
“So I found out about the captaincy on Twitter.
“I’d had an email saying that I was in the squad but then I found out off the Internet.”
