Vivian Gordon James "Viv" Jenkins (2 November 1911 – 5 January 2004) was a Welsh
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 ...
player who, having taught Classics and Games at
Dover College
, motto_translation = I cannot refuse the task
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public SchoolIndependent day and boarding
, religion = Church of England
, headmaster = Simon Fisher
, r_head_label =
, r_head ...
, went on to have a successful career as a sports journalist. He won 14 caps 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 ...
and 1 cap for the
British and Irish Lions
The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...
. He also played
first-class cricket
First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...
with
Glamorgan
, HQ = Cardiff
, Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974)
, Origin=
, Code = GLA
, CodeName = Chapman code
, Replace =
* West Glamorgan
* Mid Glamorgan
* South Glamorgan
, Motto ...
and
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
.
Early life
Jenkins was born in
Port Talbot
Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south ...
but grew up near
Bridgend
Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...
. He attended
Llandovery College
, image = Llandovery College (geograph 5927072).jpg
, image_size =
, motto = Gwell Dysg Na Golud(here areno riches better than learning)
, established =
, closed =
, type = Independent day and boa ...
in
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...
and later
Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship St ...
.
Rugby career
Jenkins played rugby for Jesus College and represented the school's side 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 ...
on three occasions. In 1932, he was offered a chance to play for his home club
Bridgend RFC
Bridgend Ravens ( cy, Cigfrain Pen-y-bont) (formerly Bridgend RFC) are a semi-professional rugby union club based in Bridgend, South Wales.
They currently play in the Welsh Premier Division and are a feeder club to the Ospreys regional team ...
in a tie against
Newport RFC
Newport Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Casnewydd) is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, South Wales. They presently play in the Welsh Premier Division. Until 2021 Newport RFC were based at Rodney Parade situated on t ...
. His performances for Bridgend led to him receiving a call up to the
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team ( cy, Tîm rygbi'r undeb cenedlaethol Cymru) represents Wales in men's international rugby union. Its governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played thei ...
within a month to play against
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
on 21 January 1933.
Wales won the match 7–3, the first time the side had won at Twickenham for 23 years.
The following year, Jenkins missed the opening match of the
1934 Home Nations Championship
The 1934 Home Nations Championship was the thirtieth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Five Nations, and prior to that, the Home Nations, this was the forty-seventh series of the nort ...
against England. He rejoined the side ahead of its victory over
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, in which he kicked two conversions, and became the first Welsh full back to score a try in an international fixture when he scored ran in a try against Ireland in the final match. In 1935, Jenkins and teammate
Wilf Wooller
Wilfred Wooller (20 November 1912 – 10 March 1997) was a Welsh cricketer, rugby union footballer, cricket administrator and journalist.
He was acclaimed as one of the greatest all-round sportsmen that Wales has ever produced. He captained G ...
inspired Wales to victory over
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
.
Jenkins was part of the
1938 British Lions tour to South Africa
The 1938 British Isles tour to South Africa was the fourteenth tour by a British Isles team and the sixth to South Africa. The tour is retrospectively classed as one of the British Lions tours, as the Lions naming convention was not adopted unt ...
where he was named vice-captain to
Sam Walker. Although disrupted by injury, he was the team's second-highest scorer with 50 points during the tour. He won his final cap for Wales the following year, in a 3–0 defeat to England.
Personal life
Jenkins married Susan Fraser in 1940 and the couple had one son together. His wife died in 1984.
After graduating from Jesus College, Jenkins took up a teaching position at
Dover College
, motto_translation = I cannot refuse the task
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public SchoolIndependent day and boarding
, religion = Church of England
, headmaster = Simon Fisher
, r_head_label =
, r_head ...
alongside his sporting career.
At the start of the Second World War, Jenkins joined the
Territorial Army and served in the anti-aircraft command where he reached the rank of captain.
After the war ended, Jenkins became a rugby reporter for the ''
News of the World
The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling En ...
'' and later ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
''.
He served as the editor of ''Rothmans Rugby Yearbook'' for 11 years and wrote several books on the sport.
References
External links
Cricinfo: Viv Jenkinsat CricketArchive
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Vivian
1911 births
2004 deaths
Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford
Bridgend RFC players
British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales
Glamorgan cricketers
London Welsh RFC players
Oxford University cricketers
Oxford University RFC players
Rugby union fullbacks
Rugby union players from Port Talbot
Wales international rugby union players
Welsh cricketers
Welsh rugby union players
Welsh sportswriters