The 30-year-old Jenkins made his debut for the Black & Ambers against Swansea a decade ago after graduating into the senior ranks from the Wales U18 and U20 squads. He took over the captaincy in 2017.
He played in the WRU National Cup final defeat against Merthyr in 2018 at Principality Stadium and took his match tally for Newport to 157 last season with 15 appearances.
“With the uncertain times we find ourselves in, we need a leader that will bring stability and there’s no one better than Rhys for this,” said Newport head coach Ty Morris.
“On the field he brings a constant high level of performance and off it he has a calm persona that is infectious to others around the camp. Rhys is a proud Newport boy who has been a pivotal figure for the club in recent years.
“He has led from the front as captain for the past three seasons and I’m sure he will lead us again through the challenging times that Covid has brought to our regular rugby structure.”
Jenkins will become only the sixth player in Newport’s illustrious history to captain the club in four successive campaigns. The last one was former Wales flanker Glen George (5 seasons 1988-89 to 1992-93).
Before George, Mike Watkins did four seasons (1983-84 to 1986-87) and prior to that it was George Llewellyn-Lloyd ((1899-1900 to 1902-03). There were two other players who led the side for four years in a row in the 19th century, Tom Graham (1889-90 to 1891-92) and Williams Phillips (1877-78 to 1881-82).
