Neil Jenkins facts for kids
Neil Jenkins on 19 March 2012
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth name | Neil Roger Jenkins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Neil Jenkins (born 8 July 1971) is a famous Welsh former rugby union player. He is also a successful coach today. Neil played as a fly-half, centre, or full back. He played for teams like Pontypridd, Cardiff, and the Celtic Warriors. He also proudly 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 player in history to score 1,000 points in international rugby matches. In 2004, he started coaching the Wales national rugby union team, helping players with their kicking skills.
Contents
Early Life and School Days
Neil Jenkins was born in a place called Church Village in Wales. This village is close to Pontypridd. He went to Llanilltud Faerdref primary school. After that, he attended Bryn Celynnog Comprehensive School in Beddau.
Playing Career Highlights
Neil Jenkins joined the Pontypridd rugby team in 1990. He played his first game for their top team on 14 April.
Wales Debut and Kicking Skills
Neil first played for Wales when he was 19 years old. This was on 19 January 1991 against England. Wales lost the game, but Neil scored his first three points from a penalty kick.
At the start of his career, Neil was very good at kicking the ball. He was also surprisingly fast. Some people thought he wasn't good enough to wear the famous Welsh number 10 shirt. But Neil worked hard to improve his game. He got better at tackling, passing, and running. He became excellent at passing the ball, especially with his quick, flat passes.
In November 1993, he set an international record. He kicked eight successful penalty goals in a game against Canada. Even though Wales lost, it was an amazing achievement. When he was just 23, he became Wales's record point scorer. He passed Paul Thorburn's record in a game against Italy.
British & Irish Lions Tours
Neil Jenkins was chosen for the 1997 British Lions tour to South Africa. He played as a full-back in all three important test matches. His accurate kicking helped the Lions win the series against South Africa. He scored 41 points across the three tests. This broke the previous record of 38 points.
He also went on the 2001 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia. However, he had an injury. This meant another player, Jonny Wilkinson, became the main kicker. Neil still played one more game for the Lions as a replacement.
Memorable Moments and Records
In 1999, Neil made a famous kick in the 1999 Five Nations Championship. He kicked a conversion right at the end of the game against England. This kick helped Wales win 32–31. It also stopped England from winning the championship! Later that year, he kicked nine penalties in a game against France. This equaled an international record.
In October 2000, Neil received an MBE award. This was for his great contributions to sport. He even flew by helicopter from Buckingham Palace to play a rugby match! In that game, he scored all 24 points for Cardiff in their win.
In 2001, Neil Jenkins made history. He became the first rugby player ever to score over 1,000 international points. In one game against France, he scored 28 points. This included a try, a conversion, a drop-goal, and a penalty.
His kicking skills remained his biggest strength throughout his career. In the 2003-04 Celtic League, he set a world record. He made 44 successful kicks at goal in a row for the Celtic Warriors team.
Retirement from International Rugby
Neil's last game for Wales was on 1 November 2002 against Romania. Wales won the game 40–3. He 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 career, he played 87 games for Wales. He scored 1,049 points for Wales. He also scored 41 points in his four games for the British & Irish Lions. This gave him a total of 1,090 points. He was the only player to score over 1,000 points in international rugby for a long time. Later, Jonny Wilkinson broke his world record.
Even though he faced some criticism early on, Neil Jenkins is now a respected figure in Welsh rugby. Many fans think he is one of the best kickers in rugby history.
Coaching Career
In 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 coaches like Gareth Jenkins and Warren Gatland.
During the 2007–2008 season, Neil helped the Welsh team win a Six Nations Grand Slam. This was their second Grand Slam in four years.
Coaching the British and Irish Lions
On 8 June 2009, Neil was chosen as the specialist kicking coach for the British and Irish Lions. He helped them on their tour of South Africa.
He was then asked to coach the Lions again for their 2013 tour to Australia. He worked with head coach Warren Gatland. Neil was also part of the coaching team for the Lions tours in 2017 and 2021.
Off the Field Activities
In 1999, Neil Jenkins wrote his autobiography. It was called Life at number 10: An Autobiography. This book came out just weeks before he broke the international points scoring record.
A DVD called Jenks – A Rugby Legend was released in 2003. It tells the story of Neil's journey. It shows how he went from a working-class boy in Wales to a top rugby player.
To celebrate Neil's career, the famous Grogg Shop in Pontypridd 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. Only 100 of these statues were made. They were hand-painted in different rugby kits. Only three were in the Lions jersey. Neil owns one, his mother owns another, and the third was sold 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
