Thankfully the Wales prop, who will make his second start for the Lions against Wellington on Wednesday, was given the all clear after a series of x-rays revealed nothing more than heavy bruising. Jenkins suffered the injury in the second half stoppage time as he tried to prevent Taranaki from crossing for a consolation try. He failed in his attempt to dislodge the ball from the arms of Brad Watt, but was left with a particularly sore thumb which required immediate attention and subsequent x-rays.
He said: “I couldn’t tackle him and stop him scoring, so I tried to punch the ball out of his arms as he went over. Unfortunately, I came off worse and ended up in hospital. To be honest, I sat there in a right state. I thought my tour might be over. Imagine if they had X-Rayed the thumb and told me it was broken! When he gave me the all clear I was over the moon.”
Although the English media and one or two of the Lions management appear to be pushing towards Andrew Sheridan as the Test loose head in Christchurch, Jenkins is still the man in pole position. His performance against the Bay of Plenty was solid, his second half intervention against Taranaki helped to change the game and his second half appearance, for Sheridan on Saturday, was equally as impressive. The Cardiff Blues star, however, is still unsure whether he will be named in the starting line up for that opening Test.
“I haven’t a clue,” said Jenkins. “I need a good game on Wednesday and if that’s the case I have a chance, but the coaches have given us no indication yet of who is and who isn’t in the side. To be honest, they probably haven’t made up their minds as yet. That’s why we have to keep performing and prove that we are up to the job of facing the All Blacks.”