Eddie Butler meets Wales prop Gethin Jenkins in The Observer, discussing recovery after a bruising clash with England last weekend.
"Three days after Gethin Jenkins could start to move again, he put himself forward for public inspection. He looked relatively unmarked, considering what he had been through, almost jaunty, a different prop from the one who would once have groaned at the prospect of explaining anything about his form, his role, or himself.
"Only when he lowered his 6ft 2in frame into a chair was there any sign of soreness after the England game. Only when he turned round to acknowledge the taunts of the passing Stephen Jones and Martyn Williams – "So who's the star now, then?" – was there a sign of that chronic front-row ailment, the locked neck.
"There is a routine to a prop's recovery from an international match: on the Sunday after a Saturday, he is numb; on the Monday he is in pain; on Tuesday he can contemplate motion.
"This was now Thursday, halfway through a recovery week more welcome than most. "There was a six-day turnaround from Scotland to England, so that was more punishing than usual," said the 28-year-old. "And then, well, England was one of the hardest games I've played in."
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