FAIRYTALE ending is an overused expression, but it is the only way to sum up Neil Jenkins' farewell in a Wales jersey at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday, writes Paul Tully.
The rapturous reception he received when he walked on to the pitch with his three-year-old daughter, Georgia, was bettered only by the one he received when he landed a trademark touchline conversion at the end.
He treated us to 15 minutes of sheer magic as he rolled back the years to show what Wales will be missing after his 100 appearances for his country.
In that short spell, which followed a full 80 minutes for his club, Pontypridd, against Cardiff the night before, he showed true class.
The man who has scored a world record 1,049 Test points showed his magic with a superb loop which sent full back Garan Evans away before replacement Tom Shanklyn scored.
Two minutes later and a superb Jenkins break in midfield set up a position from which former Newport No 8 Alix Popham's long pass put Shanklyn over for his try hat trick.
And with the disappointing 23,721 crowd willing it over, Jenkins stepped up to convert magnificently from the touchline with his only kick of the match.
Afterwards he had a huge smile on his face at the Press conference when he said: "I enjoyed it. It was a great day.
"I was on sooner than expected because Iestyn (Harris) had a bump.
"The young Cardiff players had run me off my feet the previous night, but I was not too tired and the crowd made it a special day."
Asked if he regretted finishing, he said: "You want to keep playing as long as you can, but I don't think I have it now, to be honest. I've given it a good try but all good things come to an end."
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