Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Welsh rugby union player who captained his country at 20, youngest ever, earning 32 caps for Wales and playing for Cardiff.
On the island
Eight records
Music not mentioned in transcript
The transcript has no first disc selection. Only 8 discs are required; the transcript appears truncated or incomplete. Only extract what is present.
The keepsakes
No book or luxury recorded for this episode.
In conversation
Presenter asks
0:08What part of Wales are you from?
I'm from what to most uh English people is an unpronounceable village in the top of the Swansea Valley called uh Gwancai Geruen.
Presenter asks
0:26You were brought up to play soccer as well as rugby, weren't you?
Yes, although uh basically in the village uh one tended to play rugby, as you'll find in most villages in South Wales, the opportunity did come at a later age to play soccer. And since most of my friends did play it, I participated in as well.
Presenter asks
2:17What was the first game you played for Wales?
My first game was uh in Cologne against uh France in April of of nineteen sixty seven.
Presenter asks
4:25How much free reign does a captain have? Do the selectors dictate strategy?
Well in today's game there is far more scope given not only to the captain but to the whole team. Although there is far greater preparation for a game beforehand there is discussion amongst the selectors and the coach and even the team itself on what sort of tactical ploys we should try in the forthcoming game. The only time that the captain is in complete command is on the field of play.
Presenter asks
4:53How much time does the national team have together?
Not as much as most people tend to think, although as I've just said, that we now spend far more time together than we used to. I remember when I first played for Wales, we only used to meet on the Friday evening, and the captain used to take over the training at that time. But now we do have occasional Sunday sessions, we call them, or weekends together prior to an international. And we do now meet on a Thursday evening before a game, have a light run out, and then meet on the Friday evening.
Presenter asks
7:41What job are you doing now? You're not in physical education nowadays.
No, I after I qualified I tended to find that uh my immediate interest in physical education uh had diminished. I had no wish to carry it on and I more or less uh went immediately into uh industry and within six months I found myself working for my present employer um which is in engineering.
“I'm from what to most uh English people is an unpronounceable village in the top of the Swansea Valley called uh Gwancai Geruen.”
“Without a doubt I think that'll reign as one of the greater experiences of my life.”
“There's this superb feeling of uh of togetherness when you go out onto Cardi Farms Park, which uh one has to experience to really appreciate it.”
“Every rugby player in Wales has this aura about him. This pop idol image which the not only the children but the grown-ups as well place upon him and there are many occasions when this can get a little bit embarrassing.”
“I weighed it all up with the fact that I was quite happy in my present situation and uh there is no doubt in my mind I made the right decision.”