Ellis Jenkins is relishing the opportunity to make more unforgettable European memories as Cardiff Rugby kick-off their Heineken Champions Cup against Stade Toulousian on Saturday (1pm).
The Blue and Blacks take on the reigning champions on the back of a Omicron hit build-up to the hotly-anticipated encounter, which has seen 32 players and 16 staff ruled out due to quarantine.
Jenkins, who did not travel on the ill-fated trip to South Africa, is now set to lead a makeshift Cardiff outfit and while daunting, he is looking forward to the challenge ahead.
He has not appeared since leading Cardiff to the European Challenge Cup in 2018, a journey which included some of his fondest Arms Park memories.
Jenkins said: “The Arms Park is amazing every time, particularly in Europe - the stands fill out a little bit more and the only other time we see that is derbies.
“It’ll be a big occasion and hopefully there’ll be some decent weather and we can get the stands full.
“It’s been a while to be honest since I’ve experienced one. Some of the best memories we have has been European weekends.
“I still get people coming up to me talking about the semi-final against Pau which we had at home. It was a Saturday afternoon, it was boiling hot, and the stands were full.
“There were superstars on both teams. It will be similar on the weekend. We’ve still got some stardust across our team. It’s well documented how good Toulouse are as well.
“Hopefully the spectacle can live up to the billing.”
With Gruff Rees leading the group in Dai Young’s absence, Jenkins and his fellow regulars will be joined by a host of academy starlets and semi-professionals from the Rags and Aberavon.
He has been impressed by what he has seen in training so far, and while he is under no illusions of the magnitude of the task at hand and Cardiff’s underdog status, he insists they have nothing to lose.
Jenkins continued: “Realistically we were underdogs when this fixture was announced if we are being honest with ourselves.
“With the situation the pressure is off us completely. We’ll try and get the ball to our star players and see what they can do.
“We’ll try and score some tries. Sport in general is strange sometimes. It doesn’t always play out as it should. We are looking forward to it.”
“It’ll be great for us, particularly the senior boys… we’ve got to try and make it as less daunting as possible for the youngsters, try to relax them as much as we can so they can show people what they can do.
“The last thing we want to do is overwhelm them with information and responsibility which could take away their natural rugby ability.
“You see glimpses in training and you think oh he’s got a bit about him but unless you see them actually in games, particularly the younger boys who haven’t played a massive amount of rugby if at all over the last two years.
“It’s great for them. Some of them are a bit nervous. We sat down with them at the start of the week and said let us do the worrying and the organising and let's go out and play. Nobody is expecting anything spectacular but we are here for a reason. It’s another opportunity.”
While the opportunity that presents itself is at the forefront of Jenkins’ mind, the teammates in quarantine are not far behind.
He admits it has been a hugely challenging period and remains in daily contact with those in quarantine, many of whom are close friends.
“It’s not ideal for anyone particularly the uncertainty around it and the different scenarios with regards getting to the airport twice and getting turned around.
“Thinking you are going home and getting turned around is not ideal for any of the boys but unfortunately it’s part of life at the moment. The boys are aware of that and we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“You feel sorry for the boys out there but we’ve also had a laugh with some of them. We are kicking a football around, warming up, and sending them videos and stuff, asking how their holiday is in South Africa.
“We were just trying to keep morale high if we can. It goes down well with some boys and not so well with others!
“It’s not ideal for anyone. It’s been tough for everyone. When we had the lockdown isolating at home was bad enough but to do that in a hotel room on your own is grim.”
Tickets for Cardiff Rugby v Toulouse in the Heineken Champions Cup are available NOW but SELLING FAST. Get yours today and be our 16th man. Click here or call 029 20 302030 during normal office hours.