Jason Jenkins hasn’t been with the Hollywoodbets Sharks for long enough to have any of the unsettling history many of his teammates will have when it comes to the DHL Stormers, but he’s fully aware of the significance of Saturday’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby.
If the Sharks win against their coastal rivals, it will be the first time they’ve beaten the Stormers in the URC. It will also be the first time they’ve beaten the Stormers anywhere since they squeaked a close win in a Rainbow Cup games back in the dark days of Covid and empty stadiums in early 2021.
So there is a losing sequence to be broken, but there’s more to it than that - after wins over the two most recent URC champions at Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Glasgow Warriors and Munster, a win over the inaugural champs will make it three in a row against teams that have tasted success in this competition. After a disastrous URC campaign last year, that will be a significant step towards turning their home ground into the fortress they want it to become.
“I think this game is huge for us. We have spoken about it as a squad, we want to make Kings Park a special place where it is tough for other teams to come and play and a tough place to come and win,” said the 28-year-old former Vodacom Bulls and Leinster lock who moved back to South Africa at the start of the season.
“The whole squad has bought into that goal of setting up Kings Park as a fortress and we are all on the same page. We also need to keep momentum. By the time we have played the Stormers, we would have played three champion teams in a row. So winning this weekend will put us in the right place and put us on the front foot in the competition.”
A WIN WILL PUT SHARKS IN RIGHT PLACE
The Sharks are currently listing just outside of the top eight cut-off between playoff and Investec Champions Cup qualification that they failed to reach last season, but like the rest of the South African teams, they do have a game in hand because of the postponed first round of derbies in December.
The Sharks lost twice on their overseas tour, which didn’t quite reach the target that coach John Plumtree would have set. But winning the first two home games against rated opposition and then the Stormers will certainly put them in the right place and ease a lot of pressure as they head into a tough block of games over the December period that ends with the return derby agains the Stormers in Cape Town just after Christmas.
“Any local derby is tough, it is a bit more personal, and I know the Sharks don’t have a good record against the Stormers,” said the product of St Albans and Pretoria University.
“We are looking to change that (bad record). We know it will be tough and we know what they bring. We have done our analysis on the Stormers and come up with a few plans.”
RETURNING BOKS BRING ENERGY
Like the Stormers, the Sharks took two weeks off at the start of the five week break since their last outing against Munster before knuckling down to the preparation for the resumption for both this game and the tough games to follow.
“We have had good preparations. It was nice to get a bit of a break. The guys who weren’t with the Boks got two weeks off and then we had some good prep for the games ahead,” said Jenkins.
Unlike the Stormers, who have most of their Springboks on the injured list, and who welcomed back only Manie Libbok after the November tour, the Sharks have had an infusion of international players. That could work for the Sharks or against them, but Jenkins appears confident it will be the former.
“The guys started slotting back in today (Wednesday) and it was clear everyone knows their roles. There is new energy when guys come back in, and with the Boks back in the squad there is a lift in the emphasis on quality. It is always good to have the whole squad back together.”
BOK ASPIRATIONS BROUGHT HIM HOME
Jenkins is hoping that this time next year he will be one of the Sharks Boks returning to training after an international tour. The chance of adding to his solitary Bok cap earned in Rassie Erasmus’ very first game in charge, the 24-22 defeat to Wales in Washington in June 2018, is one of the reasons he decided to return from Ireland.
“There were obviously a few different things that motivated my return,” said Jenkins. “Firstly, I liked what the Sharks have been building, and I liked what Plum (Plumtree) was selling me when he met with me. And secondly I do still have aspirations of playing for the Boks.
Jenkins felt that returning home to South Africa would make him more visible and therefore more likely to get a Bok call. And the star studded nature of the Sharks team will also help him in that quest.
“I am playing in a pack where almost everyone has played for the Boks so being among them is very beneficial,” he said.
“I must say its been awesome with the competition (for places), I knew that would be the case coming here. It’s so healthy for the environment when there is competition. We are constantly pushing each other.
"We are all good mates but you are always fighting for that position and you want each other to do better for the sake of the squad. It’s been good for me, I can learn a lot from someone like Eben (Etzebeth), but I can also learn from the younger guys, as well as help them.”
PLAYING IN IRELAND WAS GREAT EXPERIENCE
Jenkins certainly has the experience to rub off on young players around him, like the highly promising Corne Rahl, and after spending several seasons in Ireland playing for the rated Leinster outfit he also has input that can be used by the coaches.
“The Irish have some quality players, with a good skill set and there is a lot of focus on detail there, also a lot of ownership from the players,” Jenkins explained.
“It was good for me to do a stint in that environment. I learned a lot from them. All round my career path has been good for me in that I learned a lot over there and now I am learning from the squad we have here. It all comes together as a lot of different experiences that is beneficial.”
His coach of course was an Ireland assistant coach to Joe Schmidt for a time, so should be quite well versed with the Ireland way. What Jenkins and Plumtree will also share is the uplifting feeling of being back in a warm country, with Plumtree returning to Durban last year after a decade away.
“It is awesome to be home. Really, there is no place like home, and it has been great being back in this weather, with the sun shining from early in the morning. I had to adjust and the last few weeks of training in the heat has been particularly tough and it is something I am adjusting to.
"Obviously it helps to train in the heat as it gives us an advantage when teams visit us if we are used to those conditions.”
WANTS TO BE MORE ENGAGED
Jenkins played his one game for the Boks at the age of just 22, so you could say he might have expected more from his international career than what he has experienced up to now, but part of the reason he hasn’t featured again has been the injuries that have stopped him from gaining momentum and enjoying sustained runs of game time.
He feels that is changing now as his injury problems are behind him, and is hoping for an extended run. From this week’s game against the Stormers he wants to start becoming more engaged in the games.
“I want to get more involved in games, get my hands on the ball more and have more carries. I want to be involved in as many battles as possible. That is what I am trying to focus on. At times recently I have not been too much in the games, and you lose confidence when you don’t feel part of the game.
“I see myself as a physical lock but I also see myself as an asset in the lineouts. Coming back from overseas, where they do lineouts a bit differently, it has been good to integrate those ideas and bounce ideas off the coaches,” he added.
Saturday’s game will be a good opportunity for Jenkins to test himself against locks who will be vying with him for Bok recognition going forward. The Stormers No 5, Ruben van Heerden, is like Jenkins a product of the Pretoria schooling system who also played for the Sharks, while JD Schickerling is back from Japan and making waves as the Stormers No 4.
It has been the work rate of the Stormers pack that has put them ahead of the Sharks in recent years and Jenkins and co will be out to change that on Saturday.