Socks - the new holy relic

March 16, 2013

Well you didn't expect me not to mention it did you?  After a whole month or so of the so called national press acting as a cheer leader for the inevitability of an English Grand Slam it was a real pleasure to be in the Millennium Stadium today.  Funnily enough there as a pretty solid confidence level in Wales.  I forecast a 12 point margin in our favour.  My reasoning was that England had struggled against Ireland, France and Italy while we had grown in capability and confidence ever since around 50 minutes into the match against Ireland.    It is a source of constant irritation that the BBC, the Guardian et al all in effect support England.  In part I suppose as its mainly ex England players doing the writing.  On the night however it was a different matter and the picture (which is going viral at the moment) says it all.  The normal slogan is spot the welshman!

Now I have been in the stadium on many an occasion but I have never felt such fierce intent in the crowd.  When we hit Gwlad, Gwlad in the anthem my hair (what is left of it) stood on its ends.  You really felt that this crowd would not allow England to parade a trophy around our stadium.  Why the country which was one of the founders of slavery uses a negro spiritual as a rugby hymn I will never understand, but the wheel was off the chariot from the first scrum.  Any attempt by the English supports to sing it was drowed within seconds by Hymns and Arias which has more or less replaced Bread of Heaven these days.   A simple look at the statistics will tell you just how dominant this performance was.  The highest margin by which we have ever defeated them, but critically we pushed them back in the scrum and gave them nothing in the loose.  Probably the most complete Welsh performance I have ever seen.

At the end of the match no one wearing red left and when the team did their round to thank the crowd and parade the trophy we were all still there.  As Adam Jones approached our end someone asked for his socks and they were thrown into the crowd.  Who ever caught them should create a shrine.  Probably the best number 3 in world rugby at the moment and it showed.

So we are Champions again, for the fourth time in nine years and with three Grand Slams.  For England its one of each in ten and the series is now even after over a hundred years.   Roll on the World Cup, if form continues they will not make it out of the pool stage.

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