David Rees Jenkins (12 April 1904 – 13 August 1951) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

er who played

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

for

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

and

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

for Leeds RLFC, and representing internationally in both sports.

Rugby career

Jenkins joined Swansea from

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...

in 1924 and, while with Swansea, faced two touring international teams. In 1927 he played against the

New Zealand Maori rugby union team New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, and then in 1927 the

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the state, ...

. Jenkins gained his first cap for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

team when he was selected to face the Waratahs again in their 1927 tour. Jenkins's only other Welsh union cap was in the

1929 Five Nations Championship The 1929 Five Nations Championship was the fifteenth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the forty-se ...

when he was chosen to face England on 19 January. Under the captaincy of

Ivor Jones Ivor is an English masculine given name derived either directly from the Norse ''Ívarr'', or from Welsh (which spells it ''Ifor''), Irish (sometimes ''Ibar''), or Scottish, all of which likely derive it also from the original Norse form.The Oxford ...

, Wales lost their eighth consecutive game at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

with the final score 8–3 to England. Jenkins may have gained further caps but when the next Welsh game was played on 2 February 1929, Jenkins was playing rugby league for Leeds RLFC, having switched codes for £370, (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £64,000 in 2018). He went on to represent against Australia in the 1929 Ashes series.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), p. 467. * 1929 *

1927

Note

It is often incorrectly assumed that Jenkins was the father of the rugby league footballer, David Jenkins However, this is not the case, as "Dai Jr." was only 10 years younger than David Jenkins, and was actually the son of Richard and Rachel (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Howells) Jenkins, whose marriage was registered during third ¼ 1909 in

Pontypridd () (colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng (Trallwn) and Treforest (). The ...

district.

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk (statistics currently missing due to not having appeared for both Great Britain, and England)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, David 1904 births 1951 deaths Dual-code rugby internationals Great Britain national rugby league team players Leeds Rhinos players Neath RFC players Resolven RFC players Rugby league players from Resolven Rugby league props Rugby union players from Resolven Rugby union props Swansea RFC players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players