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Wales win the grand slam
March 16th, 2008
Filed under Ramblings
To anyone brougt up in the mid 80’s in Wales, the rugby was a national sore point, a mix of wistful pride and heartfelt disappointment as the great teams of the 70’s gave way to many years of lackluster play. I was only little when I watched matches at home, but between Dad’s pained outbursts and Mum leaving the room unable to watch, I still got the feeling I’d missed out on something special.
Perhaps you had to be brought up on rugby to appreciate the old blend of beer-fuelled amateurs with dodgy perms charging around on a muddy pitch. Today of course, it’s a professional game for our times, as evidenced by the technical fabrics and big sponsors. Welsh rugby even has its very own celebrity royalty in the quite remarkably orange Gavin Henson and his opera-singing bird Charlotte Church.
But despite all the changes, it’s still a compelling game. This victory, their second Six Nations grand slam in four years, seemed a vindication of those memories - no longer a so-called lucky fluke but a triumphant return to the form I’d only heard about secondhand.
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