There was a moment early in the second half when it seemed South Africa had to score. They piled on the phases; six, ten, twelve, each one with greater intensity than the preceding one. Eventually the ball was slipped to Damian de Allende on an inside line. De Allende earns a good living taking the straightest line from A to B and going through whoever lies in his path.
On this occasion it was the flanker Ellis Jenkins who stood between him and open ground. Jenkins is not the biggest but he is strong. He held his ground and drove into De Allende’s midriff. If that was not enough, Jenkins then got his hands on the ball and wrenched it out of his opponent’s grasp. Soon the ball was being dispatched to the halfway line and Wales, you thought, could win this.
It was not Jenkins’s first notable contribution as he had made an excellent turnover at an early ruck, setting himself perfectly before reaching down and grabbing the ball from Lood de Jager. Not long after that, with the Springboks threatening to score, he anticipated Herschel Jantjies’s pass and snaffled it. Three interventions of quality and all at significant moments in the game.
This was a Test match that simmered nicely for an hour and then bubbled brilliantly in the final quarter. Jenkins was one of the top performers; strong on the ball, excellent in defence and intelligent in his reading of the game. Though he is 28, this was just his 12th cap but there is a story behind that.
Almost three years ago, he earned his 11th cap with a man-of-the-match performance against the Springboks. Then, in the last play of the game, he ruptured ligaments in his knee. It was always going to take time to return but no one imagined it would take almost three years.
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He might not have been asked to start this Test but Wales had so many injured back-rowers there was not much choice. If it was more than he needed at this point in his comeback, that did not show. He stayed on the pitch for 78 minutes and made his presence count. Sam Warburton, now speaking from the commentary box, knows first hand how difficult it is to perform when returning from injury. “I have been injured, a knee injury sustained in the jackal position which he suffered,” he said. “To try to come back and play after a few months is difficult. To do it after three years is something else.”
From a Welsh point of view, Jenkins’s performance was significant on many levels. They now have a high-quality flanker fit and back in the fold. They also have a potential leader, something that takes on added significance given that Alun Wyn Jones’s shoulder injury will keep him out for the rest of the season. Yesterday’s captain Jonathan Davies and the hooker Ken Owens are obvious contenders for the captaincy but they are 33 and 34 respectively.
In other words, not really players for the future. This is where Jenkins comes in. He captained Wales Under-20 to a runner-up finish at the 2013 Junior World Championship, having played in the side that beat New Zealand the year before. And on this, his comeback game, Jenkins was the vice-captain which meant he led the team through the pulsating final quarter after Davies was replaced.
Jenkins comes from Beddau, a small, former mining town in the south Wales valleys, 14 miles from Cardiff. The same town delivered two other Jenkinses to the Welsh side: the hooker Gethin and the kicking machine Neil. His performance did not escape Wayne Pivac’s attention.
“He had some big moments in the game,” the Wales head coach said. “He had high energy and I’m pleased he’s back playing at this level and enjoying himself.”
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Taine Basham, Jenkins’s back-row partner, is another doing his chances of nailing down a place in the side no harm. As flankers they are not that dissimilar: both are strong ball-carriers and good tacklers. They provided much of the grit that kept Wales right in the game until the final minute. The difference, as it now so often is, was the quality of South Africa’s forward replacements.
When you can bring on a hooker with Malcolm Marx’s ability and replacement props such as Steven Kitshoff and Vincent Koch, there is a good chance they are going to turn the game your way. And the ever-present lock Eben Etzebeth remains a colossal presence.
There will be no despondency in Wales though. They have a team that will compete well and yesterday they unearthed a prospective new captain.
