Welsh star Jenkins ready to face ‘the best scrum in the world’

GETHIN JENKINS is prepared to scrummage himself to a standstill once again as Wales look to end a run of poor results with another famous victory over France.

In 2005 Jenkins turned in one of his most heroic Test performances as Wales held on for a dramatic victory which propelled them towards a first Grand Slam in 27 years.

Wales had raced into the lead after surviving a first-half hammering but needed to mount a late defensive stand on their own line to secure the victory.

Jenkins anchored a series of scrums in the less familiar role of tight-head prop, France were kept at bay and Wales had the seminal victory of their 2005 campaign.

Jenkins barely had the energy to stand let alone celebrate after the match but that night the Welsh supporters turned Paris red.

Fast forward two winters and the mood could not be more different. Discontent is in the valley air.

Wales have lost five of their last eight Tests and they came in for intense criticism following the 21-9 defeat to Scotland two weekends ago.

Jenkins was on the bench at Murrayfield but he has now been reinstated to the front row alongside Wales’ most potent scrummager Chris Horsman.

And Jenkins knows what is expected of him if Wales are to claim their first major scalp since Scotland nearly 13 months ago and enjoy a third triumph in four visits to Parisian soil.

“As scrummagers France are up there with Argentina and, at the moment, New Zealand,” he said.

“Those are the best in the world at the moment and we know we are going to be in for a tough challenge.

“I just remember how physically demanding that game was in 2005.

“And the way France are playing it’s going to be a really fast game again. They’ve been really impressive so far in the championship and since beating Ireland they’ve become tournament favourites again.

“We’ve got a lot to prove. We’ve lost our first two games and we have to try to turn that around.”