Sir Gareth Edwards has now spent 50 years talking about what is widely acknowledged to have been the greatest try ever scored on a rugby field.
Friday marks half a century since Edwards finished off a length-of-the-field move for the Barbarians against New Zealand in Cardiff in 1973.
The score is so iconic, that most rugby fans – regardless of their age – can recall it, or at the very least are aware of it.
Sir Gareth Edwards (pictured) has now spent 50 years talking about his iconic try in Cardiff
Over the years, Edwards has never been allowed to forget it, wherever he has been in the world. Not that he would want to. It was one of his finest moments in a glittering career.
‘People think I make this up,’ Edwards told Sportsmail. ‘I was fishing in Russia one year. The mayor of this small Russian village I was in, which had been built in 1665, spoke to me.
‘It was a little village made of wood. He had been the youngest commander of a nuclear submarine during the time of the Soviet Union.
‘We were fishing, we’d been there about a week, and he said to me “Gareth, come with me down to my house. I’ve got something to show you.” Down we went.
Edwards finished off a length-of-the-field move for the Barbarians against New Zealand in 1973
‘We had a couple of nice vodkas. I was made to feel very welcome! The TV was in front of us and I had no clue what was about to happen. He put a video in and on came the try.
‘I said “Come off it. Has one of my friends put you up to that?” No. We’d flown over Murmansk, where the submarines were being kept, to get there.
‘It took us three or four hours via helicopter to reach the village. That shows you how far out of the way it was. The only things there were fir trees, bears, and eagles!’
Edwards’ iconic try has followed him everywhere, including in Russia
The fact Edwards could not escape the try for which he is best known even in deepest, darkest Russia shows just how important it is to rugby’s history.
It remains, 50 years on from the day it happened, one of the game’s biggest marketing tools. On Friday, Edwards and his former team-mates will, rightly, mark it once again.
‘It’s a great milestone,’ said Edwards, who has previously admitted he was trying to get out of the way when the move for the try started.
‘Dare I say it, but I haven’t been allowed to forget it which is nice. It doesn’t matter what part of the world I’m in.
‘We all enjoy that moment when people come up and reminisce and talk about that game.
‘They all say “I was there.” If everybody who had told me they saw the try live had actually been there, the crowd would have been 200,000!
‘It’s lovely people take a lot of pleasure out of watching that game and that try. We’re going to celebrate it.’
As Wales’ class of 2023 prepare for this year’s Six Nations with the national game in crisis on and off the field, last week the 1970’s vintage came together in Cardiff.
The 1970’s Wales rugby stars John Bevan, Edwards, John Dawes, Barry John and JPR Williams came together in Cardiff last week
At a screening of the excellent BBC Wales production, Slammed: The Seventies, Edwards and his former team-mates John Taylor, JPR Williams, Gerald Davies, Steve Fenwick, John Bevan and Tommy David looked back on Welsh rugby’s first golden era.
Edwards said: ‘I don’t think it does any harm to have a look back every now and again on all the happy times we had and the friendships we generated. We still have them today.
‘It’s pretty obvious if you spend time amongst the boys! It doesn’t matter how long we haven’t seen each other.
‘Even though we came from humble beginnings, we developed a spirit and friendship which lasted a lifetime.’
That they did. But time waits for no man. Two of Wales’ greats in JJ Williams and Phil Bennett – who started off Edwards’ famous Barbarians try – have now passed away.
It made last week’s reunion all the more poignant.
‘Nothing would please us more than if we were still surrounded by the whole team. That hasn’t been possible as we all know. All generations get older,’ Edwards said.
‘It’s a fact we are going to lose some people. It doesn’t get any easier and you miss them even more when they’re not there.’
The first episode of charts the start of Edwards’ career. In the 1960’s, coaching was banned at international level. Wales’ players trained on Aberavon beach.
‘We’d have a bite to eat and a pint or two to get ready for matches,’ Edwards recalled.
‘I worked for an engineering company. If we won on the Saturday it would be an easy Monday! It made people happier when we won. The whole nation felt it.
‘I was prepared to die for Wales I wanted to wear the shirt so much.’
Edwards must surely be recognised as the greatest Wales player of all time. Alun Wyn Jones is the only one who can rival him. From Russia to Rhyl, his extraordinary achievements are well known.
Edwards (pictured) must surely be recognised as the greatest Wales rugby player of all time
Edwards won the lot with Wales and the Lions and has enough memories to last a lifetime.
But he will always be remembered best for that Barbarians try, one which was started by the jinking feet of the late Bennett.
The commentary to the try from Cliff Morgan – who had replaced Bill McLaren on television duties at the 11 hour – was a beautiful, fitting accompaniment.
‘Kirkpatrick to Williams. This is great stuff,’ Morgan said, before his voice and excitement level began to reach fever pitch. ‘Phil Bennett covering. Chased by Alistair Scown. Brilliant! Oh, that’s brilliant! John Williams, Bryan Williams. Pullin. John Dawes, great dummy. To David, Tom David, the half-way line! Brilliant by Quinnell! This is Gareth Edwards! A dramatic start! What a score!’
A wistful look crossed Edwards’ face as he once again delved into the memory bank.
‘The memory plays tricks on you but it’s wonderful how quickly it all comes back,’ he said.
‘When I look back on it now, it was so simple but so effective. It was a try I had to score at the time having been put in that position. I’ve never said it was the best!
‘I’ve been around the world because of people’s desire to hear about it. I scored tries from two yards out that were every bit as important and which gave me as much pleasure. I mean that.
‘The best try I think I scored was against Ireland when I knew it was vital at that moment in time. I thought to myself “God alive, it doesn’t get any better than that”.
‘I think we won a grand slam or a triple crown that year as well, not that I can remember it all! The lovely thing about the Barbarians try is not about whether it was the best try I scored, but the fact it was one of the best we scored. Everyone was involved.
Former scrum-half Edwards was chaired off at the end of the match against the All Blacks
‘Whenever you watch it, even if it’s 50 years later, the way in which it was created by individuals was amazing. Christ, the last thing I thought Phil was going to do was run.
‘I thought he was going to kick it to touch because that’s what was needed at the time. Little did we know Carwyn James had told him to play like he did in Llanelli.
‘So many people contributed to it and I look at it and think “How did we score that try?” Looking back and comparing it to today, there was improvisation and out-and-out vision.
‘It had all the basic skills of rugby, making the right decision at the right time. There was a little bit of luck in there as well because it could easily have gone wrong. Was it the best? That’s for other people to decide.’
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