Neil Jenkins facts for kids
Neil Jenkins on 19 March 2012
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| Birth name | Neil Roger Jenkins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 8 July 1971 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Church Village, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 86 kg (13.5 st; 190 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Bryn Celynnog Comprehensive School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Neil Jenkins (born on 8 July 1971) is a famous Welsh former rugby union player. He is also a coach today. Neil played in key positions like fly-half, centre, and full back. He played for teams like Pontypridd, Cardiff, and Celtic Warriors. He also represented his country, Wales, and the special team called the British & Irish Lions.
Neil Jenkins is known for scoring more points than any other player for Wales. He was also the first rugby player ever to score 1,000 points in international matches. In 2004, Neil joined the coaching team for the Wales national rugby union team. He became their kicking skills coach, helping players improve their kicks.
Contents
Early Life and School
Neil Jenkins was born in Church Village, a place near Pontypridd in Wales. He went to Llanilltud Faerdref primary school. After that, he attended Bryn Celynnog Comprehensive School in Beddau.
Neil Jenkins' Rugby Career
Neil started his professional rugby journey with the Pontypridd team in 1990. His first game for the senior team was on 14 April.
Playing for Wales
Neil made his first appearance for the Welsh national team when he was just 19 years old. This happened on 19 January 1991, during a game against England in Cardiff. Even though Wales lost that game, Neil scored his first three points from a penalty kick. After this tournament, he did not get picked for the Welsh World Cup team that year.
Neil's biggest strength was his amazing kicking ability. In his early career, he was also surprisingly fast. Over time, he worked hard to improve other parts of his game. He got better at tackling, passing, and running with the ball. He became very good at distributing the ball to his teammates.
In November 1993, Neil set an international record. He successfully kicked eight penalty goals in a game where Wales played against Canada. He was only 23 when he became Wales's highest-ever points scorer in Test matches. This happened during a win against Italy.
Playing for the British & Irish Lions
Neil Jenkins was chosen to join the 1997 British Lions tour to South Africa. He played as a full-back in all three important matches against South Africa. His accurate kicking helped the Lions win the first two games. This meant they won the series 2–1. During these three matches, he scored 41 points, which was a new record for the Lions at the time.
He also went on the 2001 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia. However, he had an injury, which meant another player, Jonny Wilkinson, often played instead of him. Still, Neil played in his fourth Lions match as a substitute in the second game of the tour.
Later Career and Records
In the final match of the 1999 Five Nations Championship, Neil made a crucial kick. In the last moments of the game, he kicked a conversion that helped Wales beat England 32–31. This win stopped England from winning the championship.
In October 2000, Neil Jenkins was given an MBE award. This award recognized his great contributions to sport. He received the MBE at Buckingham Palace. After that, he was flown by helicopter to a rugby match in Wales. In that game, he scored all 24 points for his team, Cardiff, helping them win.
In 2001, Neil made history again. He became the first rugby player ever to score over 1,000 points in international games. In one match against France, he scored 28 points. This included a try, a conversion, a drop-goal, and a penalty.
Kicking remained his strongest skill throughout his career. In the 2003-04 Celtic League, he set a world record. He successfully kicked 44 goals in a row for his team, the Celtic Warriors.
Neil's last game for Wales was on 1 November 2002, in Wrexham. Wales won that match against Romania 40–3. Neil was not chosen for Wales's 2003 Rugby World Cup team. After this, he announced he was retiring from international rugby. His international career lasted 11 years.
During his 87 games for Wales, he scored 1,049 points. This included 11 tries, 130 conversions, 235 penalties, and 10 drop goals. He also scored 41 points in his four games for the British & Irish Lions. This brought his total to 1,090 points. He was the only player to score over 1,000 points in international rugby for a while. Later, Jonny Wilkinson broke his world record.
Even though some people criticized him early on, Neil Jenkins became a very respected figure in Welsh rugby. Many fans still think he is one of the best goalkickers in rugby history.
Coaching Career
In late 2004, Neil Jenkins returned to the Welsh Rugby Union. He became the Kicking Skills Coach. His job was to help young players improve their kicking. In 2006, he joined the National Squad as a Skills Coach. He worked with different head coaches, including Gareth Jenkins and Warren Gatland.
During the 2007–2008 season, Neil helped the Welsh national team achieve a big success. They won their second Six Nations Grand Slam in four years. A Grand Slam means winning every game in the tournament.
Coaching the British and Irish Lions
On 8 June 2009, Neil Jenkins was chosen to be the specialist kicking coach for the British and Irish Lions. This was for their tour of South Africa.
He was asked to coach the Lions again for their 2013 tour to Australia. He worked alongside Graham Rowntree and head coach Warren Gatland. Neil was also part of the coaching team for the Lions tours in 2017 and 2021. He worked with Warren Gatland on both of those tours as well.
Off the Field Activities
In 1999, Neil Jenkins released his autobiography, a book about his life. It was called Life at number 10: An Autobiography. He wrote it with a journalist named Paul Rees. The book was re-released in 2001.
On 10 November 2003, a DVD was released to honor Neil. It was called Jenks – A Rugby Legend. The DVD told the story of Neil's journey from a boy in the Welsh Valleys to a rugby star.
To celebrate Neil Jenkins' career, a famous shop in Pontypridd called the Grogg Shop made a special statue of him. This "Limited Edition Testimonial Action" Grogg was unique. It was the first Grogg ever made to stand on just one leg. It took over six months to create. Only 100 of these statues were made. They were all hand-painted in different rugby kits. Only three were painted in the Lions jersey. Neil owned one, his mother owned another, and the third was bought at an auction for £4,100.
See also
In Spanish: Neil Jenkins para niños
- List of leading rugby union test point scorers
- List of rugby union test caps leaders
