Play up,Wales, and reward your fans

I WASN’T born when the prince of centres, Bleddyn Williams, led Wales to our last victory against the All Blacks in 1953.

Sadly I wasn’t present either in 1978 when 15 Welsh heroes led by the legendary JPR were denied victory by the shameful cheating of not just one, but several All Black forwards in a late lineout to fool the referee to obtain a penalty and win the match. I have been at every All Blacks match in Cardiff since then, spending a small fortune, like many thousands of other Welsh fans!

The result, sadly, has always been the same, ranging from embarrassing thrashings to close matches we could and often should (2004 comes to mind) have won! Previously we Welsh could always drown our sorrows in the beer afterwards and say at least we had in the distant past beaten the All Blacks, unlike our Celtic cousins Ireland and Scotland, who had never known the taste of victory.

Then last year in spectacular fashion the brilliant Irish, inspired by all their American ex-pats in Chicago, leapfrogged us by beating them. To cap it all, the brave and adventurous Scots could and should have beaten the All Blacks at Murrayfield last week.

Tomorrow I shall be there again, this time with my daughter, Sarah, cheering on the 23 who will proudly be wearing the three feathers! Now is the time to repay me, and the tens of thousands of Welsh rugby supporters who have spent a small fortune over the years waiting to see the silver fern defeated by a Welsh team! Wales expects! R Terry James Brentwood