Warren Gatland<\/a> (twice) and Wayne Pivac.<\/p>\nJenkins was the kicking coach and served as a mentor to many players most notably Leigh Halfpenny while he has previously worked within the pathway.<\/p>\n
But Matt Sherratt opted not to include Jenkins as part of his coaching team for this summer’s tour of Japan and it is unclear whether new head coach Steve Tandy will want to retain his services.<\/p>\n
But unlike other members of Gatland’s coaching team the former Wales playmaker is on a permanent contract.<\/p>\n
“I\u2019ve got to look at the whole system and make sure we get the right people in the right seat,” said Reddin, the WRU’s director of rugby and elite performance.<\/p>\n
“Neil Jenkins might be in the right seat or there might be an even better seat for him. I just don\u2019t know that yet.<\/p>\n
“Neil has been an outstanding player and coach for Wales over the years. I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll want to benefit from his experience moving forwards.<\/p>\n
“I\u2019m looking at everything with fresh eyes. If we want change, we\u2019ve got to be prepared to live it ourselves.”<\/p>\n
Reddin will work closely with Tandy over the coming weeks to put together a strong coaching team.<\/p>\n
“The job is to work really closely with Steve on the backroom team,” he said.<\/p>\n
“On that, it\u2019s important to say the backroom team will be connected to everyone else.<\/p>\n
“One of the key things is they\u2019re part of the whole thing \u2013 fully engaged with the age group teams, working with the regions and understanding the talent out there.<\/p>\n
“This isn\u2019t a part time job. Working with the Wales national team is a fulltime job. No-one is coming here for a rest from club rugby.<\/p>\n
“This is full on. That\u2019s the only way we\u2019re going to drive success moving forward.”<\/p>\n
Jamie George: Second Test will ‘go nuclear’<\/p>\n
By Duncan Bech, PA Rugby Union Correspondent, Melbourne<\/p>\n
British and Irish Lions hooker Jamie George predicts Saturday\u2019s second Test against Australia in Melbourne will \u201cgo nuclear\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Lions seized a 1-0 lead in the series after prevailing 27-19 at Suncorp Stadium but are braced for the backlash with bulldozing forwards Will Skelton and Rob Valetini set to return from calf injuries to reinforce the Wallabies.<\/p>\n
George starts against the First Nations and Pasifika XV on Tuesday in an opportunity to force his way into Andy Farrell\u2019s Test plans in what will be the first appearance of his third Lions tour.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my eyes, I don\u2019t see a world where Australia looked like winning the first Test,\u201d said George, a late call-up from England\u2019s tour of Argentina.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the first half of that Test, the physicality that I saw from the Lions team was something else. Tom Curry was on jet fuel. It was crazy. There were some seriously good performances.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re 1-0 up in the series and the potential of the team is huge, but I\u2019m expecting a much better Australia team.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they would have been disappointed with the way they played. There\u2019s talk of them bringing in some pretty big hitters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat means they\u2019re going to be a much better team. Is Test two going to go nuclear? I imagine so, from both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n
No hesitation from Owen Farrell<\/p>\n
By Duncan Bech, PA Rugby Union Correspondent, Melbourne<\/p>\n
Owen Farrell did not hesitate to answer the call to join his fourth British and Irish Lions tour even though he was aware of the potential \u201cpoison\u201d his involvement might generate.<\/p>\n
Farrell captains the Lions for the first time in Tuesday\u2019s match against the First Nations and Pasifika XV at Marvel Stadium, 17 days after arriving in Australia as an injury replacement for Elliot Daly.<\/p>\n
The former England captain had just finished a testimonial golf day for former Saracens team-mate Jackson Wray when his father Andy called with the invitation to join the squad.<\/p>\n
Mechanical issues with his car meant he was able to disappear to answer the phone without raising the suspicions of his golf partners.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I got asked to come, the first thing that popped into my head was \u2018yes\u2019,\u201d Farrell said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t a discussion. Elliot got a knock and I got a phone call. \u2018Can you get ready?\u2019 and I said \u2018Yeah.\u2019 That was it. I wanted to take the opportunity and I\u2019m glad I\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Until his cameo against AUNZ on July 12, his most recent international appearance was at the 2023 World Cup, after which he stepped back from England to prioritise his and his family\u2019s mental wellbeing.<\/p>\n
It was a response to the vitriol that ensued after he was banned for a high tackle against Wales in the build-up to the tournament and the booing he received during England\u2019s march to the semi-finals.<\/p>\n
The 33-year-old struggles to comprehend why he is such a polarising figure but has learned to deal with the darker moments by retaining perspective, while \u201cmaking sure I look after myself and giving myself a break\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand that times are different now,\u201d he said. \u201cSometimes it catches fire and just takes a life of its own and goes wherever it goes and there\u2019s momentum behind it. But no, I don\u2019t always understand it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe good and the bad \u2013 both are a poison. That\u2019s not to say that it\u2019s all bad, but the things that should matter to us as players are the people that matter to us.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you go and knock on someone\u2019s door and ask them their opinion of how you played at the weekend, you wouldn\u2019t really listen to their answer. The people that I think we should listen to are the proper rugby people. Your mates.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot to say that people will just pat you on the back because you have people who will tell you how it is, but they\u2019ll give you a real answer. If you do that and you\u2019re in a good place yourself, then you can deal with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause there are times where people can say this, that and the other and it just go over your head. And there\u2019s times where you\u2019re not in the best place of all time and you\u2019re almost waiting for something to set you off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Farrell \u2013 the Lions\u2019 most experienced player \u2013 roomed with the squad\u2019s youngest in 20-year-old Henry Pollock when the squad were in Canberra to face the ACT Brumbies.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s fascinating. Fascinating. What did I learn about him that I can tell you?! He\u2019s brilliant. His energy is nuts. He\u2019s always on,\u201d Farrell said of the rising star of English rugby.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s always taking the mick out of people. He\u2019s got no regard for what anyone\u2019s done in the past or anything like that. He looks like he\u2019s being himself, which is brilliant.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The latest rugby news from Wales and beyond. 16:57, 21 Jul 2025Updated 17:33, 21 Jul 2025 Lions players…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":280474,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4102],"tags":[5313,105559,11082,4151,79,23127,16,15,14260],"class_list":{"0":"post-280473","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-british-and-irish-lions","9":"tag-neil-jenkins","10":"tag-owen-farrell","11":"tag-rugby","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-todays-updates","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-wales-rugby-team"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114892379533261257","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=280473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_JS375680707.jpg\")
Lions players line up during the first Test of the series(Image: (Photo by Cameron Spencer\/Getty Images))<\/p>\n