NEW Wales coach Gareth Jenkins revealed that he wants to meet Mike Ruddock sooner rather than later to talk about the pitfalls of being national coach.

After weeks of speculation Jenkins was appointed Wales coach on Thursday night, beating Leeds Tykes director of rugby Phil Davies to the job.

Jenkins is well aware of the baggage that comes with being national coach of rugby-mad Wales, and wants to talk to Ruddock about his experiences during his two-year tenure in the role.

Ruddock, who delivered Wales' first Grand Slam for 27 years, quit the role citing family reasons for his departure, but rumours of player power have also surfaced in recent months.

And Jenkins is desperate to meet up with Ruddock, who is now working at Acorn Recruitment in Newport, in an attempt to avoid the same problems which resulted in his departure.

He said: "I will get in touch with Mike in the next week and am very keen to meet him.

"I think that will be important. I am aware of how Mike will be feeling at the moment and it will be useful for me to discuss certain things with him.

"I'm pleased for him that he is settled in what he now wants to do and I hope it goes well for him.

"He has first-hand experience of what it takes to be Wales coach, and to hear from him what else the job entails will be useful. I will be doing the same with Scott Johnson, and picking his brains also."

Jenkins has 16 games until next year's World Cup, and despite only being in the job three days, he has already set himself some ambitious targets.

The former Llanelli Scarlets coach is targeting a semi-final, and knows what he has to do if Wales is to achieve that goal.

He said: "You have to be positive and say that a semi-final place has to be our target, and then if you reach that then anything can happen.

"But to achieve that we have to make sure that all our best players are fit, energised and ready, and that will be our main focus in the months leading up to the World Cup.

"Importantly, also we have to nurture a winning habit and an environment which has the X-factor, and if we do that then we can be a semi-final team."

Jenkins made a point of insisting that he brings in his own back-room staff before accepting the job of Wales coach, and he is hopeful he can start that process this week.

He said: "The key for me is to speak to the WRU and understand what parameters I am going to be working under.

"I need to find out which people are under contract and then hopefully by next week I can be more positive and make some recruitment. I have a wish-list and I'm determined to get the right people in around me."