Everyone and their dog - from Welshpool to Waikato - will have written off Wales by the time Exeter Chiefs forward Jenkins and his teammates run out at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.
But the 22-year-old Chiefs captain cut through the noise with a simple assertion - players at this level must feel they can win, regardless of the opposition.
“You wouldn’t be a pro athlete if you didn’t think that you are going to win games,” said Jenkins, revealing that even his besties outside the rugby bubble struggle to grasp the mindset required.
“I was trying to explain that to some mates who are not in the circle and they couldn’t get their heads around that.”
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As Wales prepare to host the All Blacks — a fixture they have not won since 1953 — Jenkins stressed that self-belief is not arrogance, but a fundamental component of elite performance.
The closer matchday gets, he explained, the more powerful that sense becomes.
“The closer to the game you get, the more confident you get. It’s a weird feeling, then you run out at Principality Stadium and feel that you are invincible.”
But Jenkins’ bravado is balanced with a full awareness of the scale of Wales’ challenge, following their wholly unconvincing last-minute, one-point victory over Japan.
New Zealand may be coming off a rare defeat to England, but they remain, in his words, “a quality team and you are not going to beat them unless you are 100% on your game. Switch off for a second and you will be under your sticks.”
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It is that ruthless efficiency — on and off the ball — that has made the All Blacks the standard-bearers of world rugby for decades.
They are no longer the all-conquering side of the early 2010s, but Jenkins still remembers watching that era and seeing a team operating on a level above everyone else.
“I grew up watching the 2011 to 2015 team, who were the best in the world, and you put them on a pedestal,” he said.
“You definitely have that respect for them but we are looking forward to giving it a crack, it’s a huge opportunity to cause a real upset.”
That ambition remains undimmed by Wales’ unsteady victory last weekend, their first home win in two years.
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“It wasn’t the performance that we wanted against Japan and it was a bit cagey but the result was amazing to get the monkey off our back,” Jenkins said.
“Now we can just rip into the future. The winning feeling is something special and you want to keep tasting that.”
Perhaps crucially, the second-row believes the pressure lies elsewhere.
New Zealand, still stung by their 33-19 defeat at Twickenham, will arrive in Cardiff with a point to prove.
“Coming off losing to England, they are going to be ramped up,” Jenkins said.
“We know that but it’s exciting and we have got nothing to lose.”
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The All Blacks’ need to respond, he believes, may actually free Wales to play with clarity and aggression — especially as expectations outside the camp are minimal.
“There’s obviously pressure every time that you put on the Welsh jersey but in terms of the result I don’t think anyone is giving us a chance.”
That dismissal from outsiders fuels, rather than frightens, the squad, he insists.
Saturday will be Jenkins’ first meeting with New Zealand at senior level, though he was in the stands when Exeter teammate Christ Tshiunza made his Wales debut against them.
Even so, a sense of boyhood wonder remains.
“You grow up wanting to play the All Blacks. It’s not something you are afraid of but you look forward to,” he said. “You are testing yourself individually and as a team.”
He expects the contest to differ from anything he has experienced so far in Test rugby.
“I am expecting something different in terms of speed of ball and how they move it, but the physicality is always there in Test rugby.”
Wales have already studied the tapes looking for England’s blueprint for pegging the All Blacks back at Twickenham.
“We’ve done a lot of preview of the NZ team and there are a lot of aspects that will test our game,” Jenkins said.
“We have to be on the top of our game but there are areas we believe we can have some joy. Hopefully it will all come together.”
If belief is vital, then the Cardiff crowd will be just as crucial, says Jenkins.
“We need to do everything that we can to get people on their feet and we can play a brand of rugby that does that. We have seen that in parts but it hasn’t come together.”
