Deep breaths for Bok lock on Loftus return

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Former Vodacom Bulls lock Jason Jenkins is wary of the altitude factor as he prepares to jog out for Leinster at Loftus Versfeld.

Jenkins was named in a young and inexperienced Leinster squad missing most of the side’s top players as the number-one ranked Irish province balances their Vodacom United Rugby Championship ambitions with Champions Cup commitments.

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Leinster start their tour against the Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday as part of a double-header, before taking on the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria in the final round next week.

This means that the 27-year-old Jenkins will face his former side on his old stomping ground in the decisive final round of Vodacom United Rugby Championship action.

“It will be good to get back, it’s nice and close to home,” Jenkins said. “I’ll see the family when we have a bit of time off; other than that, I’ll be in camp.

“I’m from Pretoria, maybe 15 minutes from where the Bulls are, probably about 40 minutes from where the Lions are in Johannesburg.

“I’ve never actually played against the Bulls, so it will be interesting. It will be special to play down in Loftus again, it’s a real special place. I played many years there, lots of my rugby, junior levels through to Super Rugby. So it will be a special experience.”

Jenkins spent six years in Pretoria since making his professional debut for the Vodacom Bulls in 2015.

Even with all that time spent playing at Loftus Versfeld under his belt, he admits that he is wary of returning to altitude.

“It’s something you just have to experience; also, you don’t want to blow it up and give it too much credit,” the towering lock maintained. “Once you get there and have a session or two, you sort of blow it out and get used to it; you get that second wind and you’re actually fine.

“I’d say it will still hit me. I haven’t played there for a couple of years now. I guess when you’re from there, you’re always training at that level and playing there, and you don’t realise the effect it has. I haven’t really had much opportunity to go back and see how it is until now, so it will be interesting.

“Initially, it just feels (tough). At Loftus, in the tunnel, there’s a big sign as you walk onto the field that says, ‘1,350 metres altitude . . . it matters’.

“That’s something to put off the opposition, but it’s all mental.”

Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

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