Jason Jenkins offers Leinster a point of difference as a player, an assertion that the South African reinforced eloquently in his contribution to the United Rugby championship victory over Munster at the Aviva Stadium.
The 26-year-old provides brawn, sheer size and power, the primary physical attributes that Leinster sought in the recruitment process of a secondrow but those don’t represent a full stop when listing his qualities; Jenkins is a very good player.
Specifically tracking his movement on Saturday evening was an interesting exercise revealing a fine athlete, well versed with the technical requirements of the set piece and breakdown on both sides of the ball but also someone who possesses a sharp rugby intellect. His ability to pop up at pivotal moments and make a difference is no simple happenstance; he reads the game well.
Jenkins wasn’t Leinster’s best player on Saturday, not even the best forward. His secondrow partner James Ryan was outstanding, Michael Ala’alatoa, Scott Penny and Caelan Doris broached that level of excellence, so too Max Deegan, who was unlucky to be replaced given a high calibre input. But the South African was ruthlessly efficient and effective.
Jenkins didn’t appear distracted by playing against his erstwhile team-mates, having closed the chapter on a frustrating, injury-pockmarked season at Munster, where circumstances rather than a failure to appreciate his talent, was the primary driver in propelling him up the M7.
His first intervention just 25 seconds in the match might have been a try-scoring one, had Luke McGrath opted for a skip pass rather than contact after taking a quick tap penalty; the odds would have been heavily stacked in Jenkins’ favour in full stride, ball-in-hand, faced by one defender five metres from the Munster line.
Few locks are chartbusters in a try-scoring capacity so two in just five appearances suggests he understands the value of time and place in a rugby context. Just 18 seconds later, still inside the first minute, Jenkins had another opportunity to score a try following the last of three involvements in the one sequence of play.
He carried into two defenders and over the gain-line, latched on to Cian Healy, the prop tackled short, and then Jenkins was inadvertently flipped on to his back as he surged through a mass of bodies for the line.
On nine minutes three tacklers hung off his frame as he barged over the gain-line and then his clear-out on John Hodnett might have been a precursor to a try but for Johnny Sexton’s handling error. Within 60 seconds he had eclipsed the 277 minutes he played for Munster in just his fifth outing in the blue of Leinster.
Shortly afterwards, and as if to reinforce his power in contact, and once again festooned with red appendages, he infiltrated the Munster backfield in setting a positive ruck target.
It wasn’t all Boy’s Own stuff, as Jenkins conceded a couple of penalties, the first when wandering into Conor Murray’s passing channel on his way back to join his team-mates and then being adjudged to have dived on a ball that squirted loose from a ruck that followed a thumping tackle on Jack O’Donoghue.
On 23 minutes, Munster’s Jean Kleyn and John Hodnett lined up a double tackle on Jenkins. A couple of elements favoured the Munster duo, their target was stationary, and had to reach up to collect a pass; the instant carried double jeopardy for the receiver in terms of circumstances.
The Leinster player withstood the initial collision and then, as if in slow motion, began to move forward. It’s not just his physical strength that stands out, as he demonstrated when pinching a Munster lineout, getting his fingertips to a throw intended for Tomas Ahern. Nor are there many people who manage to send Gavin Coombes straight to the deck in a collision.
After the interval Jenkins offered several examples of how he directly impacts a maul. The first, in tandem with replacement Andrew Porter on the other side of the maul, ensured that Leinster were moving forward in the build-up to a try from hooker Dan Sheehan. On maul defence, he twice showed both technique and strength in forcing Munster to fold-in sideways.
There were glitches too, caught flat-footed by the excellent Diarmuid Barron on the side of a ruck, the Munster hooker escaping upfield in a break that promised much only to wither on the vine of another handling error.
Jenkins got his revenge on Barron, using his footwork to beat the hooker, and forced Hodnett to concede a penalty at a ruck. The South African invariably takes the direct route – it’s rarely the path of least resistance – so his departure on 66-minutes recognised the wear and tear, with Ross Molony summoned to bring a different sort of impetus.
It’s a slim body of work at this stage to be making any bold pronouncements but Jenkins couldn’t have made a better impact at Leinster, something that he’ll no doubt be keen to reinforce over a much longer period.
