Model pro Dafydd Jenkins set to give Exeter a boost

Wales international Dafydd Jenkins is fit and available for selection and could make his seasonal bow for Exeter at home to Toulouse in the second round of the Investec Champions Cup on Sunday.

The recently turned 22-year-old hasn’t played for club or country yet this term having undergone surgery on his knee and shoulder.

The Exeter captain, who led Wales earlier this year, picked up the knee problem while on international duty this summer in Australia and missed the Autumn Nations Series as well as the Chiefs’ first 11 games of the season.

Best moments from the Investec Champions Cup | RPTV

The Boks Office crew discuss their best moments from the opening round of the Investec Champions Cup. Watch the full show on RugbyPass TV now

Watch now

Best moments from the Investec Champions Cup | RPTV

The Boks Office crew discuss their best moments from the opening round of the Investec Champions Cup. Watch the full show on RugbyPass TV now

Watch now

However, Chiefs Director of Rugby Rob Baxter confirmed during his media briefing on Thursday that Jenkins is in the mix for the Toulouse clash, and spoke highly about the impact the lock has on and off the field.

“It may be an odd thing to say but he just gets on with things. I often think that is one of the most underrated qualities that a sports player can have: something good or something bad can happen but it doesn’t stop you or divert you from what you need to do next. If anything, it kind of keeps pushing you and pushing you to the next thing.

“He has got a genuine hard edge around him and expects high standards from himself and everyone else, and he leads that in training, just with the way he acts and the way he moves around the training field. He goes on the training field every day expecting to be the best trainer, and that creates a lot of good qualities around the squad.

“I think those are the kind of qualities I like to see, and he is a very good rugby player. If you combine good rugby players with people who just get on with things and don’t get distracted, if you can create a group like that then you have a very strong team.”

Henry Slade and Christ Tshiunza are also available having had their mandatory weeks off following international duty, but Argentina lock Franco Molina will sit this weekend out. Olly Woodburn, meanwhile, is “pretty much back in full training”.

Baxter is pleased that he can finally see some light at the end of the tunnel ahead of a busy festive period,

“We’re getting there. What we kind of need is to get the group to stay together and be, hopefully, a little bit injury-free for a while. Obviously, we wouldn’t be able to play that same group week in, week out but it allows you to make the changes you want to make rather than making the changes that you are forced into making,” he said.

“We’ll make some changes from last week anyway, just to freshen things up a little bit and also in preparation for another short turnaround against Sale.”