Pontypridd put on back foot by injury to Jenkins

Wyn Griffiths
Saturday 10 August 2002 00:00 BST
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Neil Jenkins, the Pontypridd stand-off, will miss at least the first month of the season after breaking a bone in his foot during a training accident.

The injury is to a metatarsal, the same bone that David Beckham broke prior to this summer's football World Cup finals in the Far East.

The news will be a blow to Pontypridd after securing the return of their prodigal son from Cardiff during the summer. The injury will also damage the plans of their coach, Lynn Howells, who must now hope that his other front line fly-half, Ceri Sweeney, stays both fit and in the form in which he finished last season.

Jenkins will miss the early Celtic League matches in Pool B, where Pontypridd face the defending champions Leinster, Newport, Bridgend and Borders. There is a chance that the Wales fly-half could play some part against Glasgow at the end of September, but he should be fully recovered for the Parker Pen Cup first round, first leg match against Roma on 12 October.

Like Beckham, Jenkins broke a metatarsal in his left foot, not his kicking foot, in the accident. Despite the injury, he will be able to train.

The New Zealand coach, John Mitchell, believes that opinions of his team's season will be based solely on the outcome of today's Tri-Nations Test against South Africa in Durban.

"This season will be judged on the team's performance in this game and we accept that. That is part of the responsibility of being an All Black," Mitchell said yesterday. "It's just part of the territory and has been since I was first involved with the All Blacks."

Victory for New Zealand will edge them closer to their first Tri-Nations title since 1999 and their fourth in total. The All Blacks lead the standings on points difference from Australia. Both sides have 10 points while South Africa have one, having played a match less.

Ben Tune, who was prescribed the banned drug probenecid to help a knee injury, will appear before a tribunal on Monday. Tune had been due to leave for South Africa with the Wallabies tomorrow.

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