Gatland’s Lions are just over two weeks away from their first warm-up game in New Zealand against the Provincial Barbarians on June 3.
And with 14 members of the squad training at the state-of-the-art facilities at their Vale Hotel base, Jenkins has revealed how their plans to take on the All Blacks are shaping up.
He said: “It is good to come into a camp like this with comfortable surroundings. I know the boys have enjoyed coming here and using the excellent facilities. It has been a good week so far.
“We are playing two weeks on Saturday and we have to be prepared for it. New Zealand will not be worrying about us, we need to hit the ground running and bring our game.
“We have worked on skills and conditioning, things like that. We need to work on that with some individual stuff too, and get everyone up and running with the calls and systems. I think the 14 here will form the core of the first game.”
Jenkins is part of Gatland’s coaching staff for the tour working as kicking coach. Jenkins made 87 appearances for Wales between 1991 and 2003 scoring 1,049 points in the process.
The legendary pivot also went on two tours with the Lions. In 1997 he was part of a winning side in South Africa and also featured on the 2001 trip to Australia.
Jenkins emphasised the importance of the team bonding together and becoming a closely knitted group ahead of the tour.
Daily sing songs have proved a successful way of uniting the four nations.
“We have had choir practice and things like that,” added Jenkins. “We have been doing a bit of bonding, the boys are getting on well and looking forward to the tour.
“Every night we sing a song from each country for a bit of fun and enjoyment. Greig Laidlaw is pretty good – probably the best – but it is all fun because it is very important to bond.”
