Welsh Rugby

Gareth Williams (editor), Sport (Library of Wales, 2007)

In the week between Wales’ slightly fortuitous Six Nations victories over Ireland and Scotland (fortuitous because both opponents had a man sent off), I read the rugby section of Gareth Williams’ Sport anthology.  This is a collection of some of the best writing on Welsh sport, and it offered a good insight into the passion for rugby in Wales.  Most of the rugby entries were on the Welsh national team, and it might have been good to include a few more chapters on club rugby and small town teams.  But the focus on the Welsh men’s team makes sense in a country obsessed with international rugby, and, in particular, the annual contest against England either in Cardiff or London.  The story is almost always one of David vs. Goliath, and a sense of Welsh nationalism is never far away in the annual grudge match against their English rivals.  Perhaps the 1970s were one period when Wales was not the underdog, and there are celebrations of J.P.R. Williams, Barry John, and Phil Bennett from this era (including the ‘greatest try ever’ by the Barbarians against New Zealand in 1973).  It’s a really fun book, and made me want to attend some more Welsh rugby matches when lockdown is over.