Thanks you for those comments about New Zealand at the end Gerald Davies. The 1971 Lions had an enormous effect on New Zealand rugby; they changed it for the better in so many ways. Barry John will always be the King here in NZ. It's also a pity we could never lure Carwyn James out here to live and coach; that would have been quite amazing.
To give an insight into what rugby was like at that time - when I turned up for pre season in my 2nd year at University - The WHOLE week was taken by Carwyn James! He told me I wasn't ambitious enough - I don't know. For me it was always no more than recreation on the weekend.
The 'squad training sessions' on a Sunday would require Dawes, Taylor, Davies, JPR travelling down the M4 on a Saturday night together. It was revolutionary - now we have 'team time' during a professional's weekly prep for the weekend game.
Alistair Hignall (who became quite a good Sports Journalist) and who had been a pretty good International Full Back (for England) described the saturday morning of the Wales v France game in Cardiff during 1988 as "a scene of religious fervour". My new (English) wife, who has a faith couldn't believe how My parents and I (also Christians) just nodded with ascent at the description given. She's gotten used to the regular pilgrimages back to THE Stadium (Millenium) over the past 40 years. My daughter (born in 'Home Counties - NORTH') is more Welsh than me - she has CHOSEN to support Welsh rugby. I went to school with Rob Norster, I couldn't believe that he had no more 'conditioning' sessions regularly than I did playing 2nd XV rugby her in England. I enjoyed refereeing my time in English rugby, but I had huge problems being given more 'expenses' on my first RFU appointed game than I had been paying match fees a few weeks before.
It misses out the one blot on the story - the 1977 Lions in New Zealand. A tour Mervyn had already been lined up to captain the year before - and then his issue happened. I remember listening to Gareth over the easter of 78 and he had had enough - as had Phil Bennett. The capers in Australia in 78 told them they were slipping down the other side and then......... Wales were always the side to beat though in the 70s;and occasionally it was so. -- But only occasionally. My boyhood ended that March of 78. Adult life came to the fore and there was only occasional moral lifts for the next 30 years until the first Gatland era.
As a NZer I can say that Haden's dive in 1978 was absolutely shameful. He never really lived it down. Years later I actually played with him and asked why he did it, and his response was to say that Wales had been getting away with murder in the line-outs and that was the only way the ref would see it. Not convinced.
Phil Bennett defied all logic He seemed to become invisible . His unique running lines and swerving changes of direction. Never seen a back get anywhere near his level
That was a weak and inexperienced All Blacks team, and the Welsh could not put them away. I believe the welsh were already on the down hill slide at that stage, a improving Wallabies had beaten them 2-0 in Australia that year. And a more Astute ref would have resulted in a bigger winning margin to the All Blacks that day, for a start Fenwick would have been sent off for breaking Clive Curries jaw, with that high Late and deliberate elbow to Curries face, plus a few of the Welsh dives would have been picked up, plus the sly leg trip on Brian Mckechnie.
It is a shame that they showed the defeat in Ireland in 1970 before the England game at Twickenham famous now for Chico Hopkins's rare appearance in a Wales shirt. The England game was played first and Wales only got their noses in front in the last ten minutes. The Ireland game took place two weeks later and Ireland were pretty sore after the 1969 game and Price's punch on Noel Murphy early on. Even the soon to be invested Prince of Wales must have seen it! Having been at the Twickenham match, I had a feeling that Wales could come unstuck in Dublin. I can confirm that it was a significant defeat. Thanks for putting it on RU-vid. It was great to see it all again.
Unfortunately there is an inaccuracy about 1989. England had already drawn with Scotland so when they came to the Wales game, which was the last game of that season, they will still on for the championship but not the grand slam.
I hate it when the media can’t wait to slam a side if they lose a few games on the bounce, they were amateur those days, with jobs, imagine being smashed to bits on a Saturday afternoon and expecting to limp into work on a Monday morning, these guys were only human, and they eclipsing the word human, the 70’s were a great time for British rugby, especially the welsh. The only trouble being, they were held back by stuffy men in suits, who knew nothing of what the players had to go through
What sheer joy. Brilliantly put together as well. Lived up to the story it had to tell. BBC Cymru. You can tell the Welsh love their rugby. And a fantastic screenrecorder!!! This is my English childhood. Adds that extra dimension. I think any Englishman - or anyone - of my age is pretty much rooting for Wales when they're playing another country.
Something I still don't understand about the amateur status of players. I've read up on some players, some who were indeed journalists working for a newspaper, who either did or didn't "professionalize" themselves by doing so. The late Frank Keating comes to mind. He did play for a low ranked club in Gloucester and wrote for a local paper. I guess if one played in the lower division, not senior top clubs, it didn't matter.
Makes you want to rewrite the law books so rugby can be the same again. Amateur, forwards fighting for ball, no defensive lines, space for backs to run, tactical kicking.
Nowadays it is Professionalism. Back then it was Tribalism. As a Falmouth Colt in 1973, playing U19's rugby, I soon learned about inter-valley "attrition". I was 13 years old. It is a 'Celtic' thing, this inter-valley tribalism. It is "character forming". When it gels into a singular entity, great sides come of it. Kembra were the undisputed "Kings of The Valleys" in the 70's; Kernow was an un-spoilt Celtic Nation. Times change, but great documentaries such as this bring back fantastic memories of rugby, "punch-ups", beers and cameraderie afterwards😉.
Certainly of his time, in his era. No Northern Hemisphere player was a consistantly good, after Barry, as Phil. Romeu, for France, was a very fine 10, I think.
Really enjoyable. Probably a great deal more enjoyable to be involved, even though it was becoming more competitive, than the awful professional era we have now
@@saganspirit From Ron Waldron to the chaos of professionalism you have a point. For the most part it was mindless self inflicted stupidity and we are are now right back in that groove again.
Quitting the game at 27, when one of the very best to come from these shores is an incredibly brave decision. With restrictions surrounding amateurism though, you can't blame the man
He quit rugby. But in writing his biography just after retiring it meant that he could never play again because by writing a book he was classed as being a professional player. I wonder did he have regrets? He was a phenomenal player.
Thatcherism, Reaganism: give to the rich at the expense of the poor. Most undemocratic and fascist. And of course it has arisen again with the likes of Boris Johnson and Demented Wannabe Fascist Dic(k)tator Donald Traitor Trump: get rid of democracy, any semblance of socialism, and put in place Putin and Orban-like un-democratic fascism.
The Llanelli men were playing for Wales when they beat the All Blacks in '72. Llanelli is a very Welsh place, you know. Welshmen live there. Very tough, too, they are.
@ekTim I've never spent much time in Wales: an afternoon in Cardiff and for a night match in Gweryfed the day before, while staying near Cheltenham and using the train for a day trip. I've been to Cornwall and Devon though, and have seen that rugby is a very, very popular sport in those two counties. There are more rugby pitches than football.
