Interview
Rugby Joys are Swi of Wing
In a 12 year, 46 cap career, Gerald Davies scored 20 tries for Wales. Gerald is now the tour manager for the Bri,sh and Irish Lions Tour of South Africa in 2009. For those who know their rugby, there can only be one Gerald. Possibly the finest winger of all ,me, Gerald Davies CBE played his part in the legendary Welsh team of the 1970s. With blistering pace and a devasta,ng sidestep, Gerald was considered one of the most thrilling a-acking players ever to grace the rugby field. “We were very lucky to have a group of players who came together at the same ,me.” says the former Lion. “For ten years, we played fabulous rugby and the most vivid memory I have of those ,mes was the club spirit we played with.” For the majority of the decade that he was playing for Cardiff and Wales, he was living in Rhiwbina. “Yes, we lived in Wenallt Road for six or seven years. I remember Rhiwbina being a convenient and comfortable place to live in. It was a nice area - full of good people.
“The best thing about living in Rhiwbina was the fact that you could walk 100 yards and you’d be out in the countryside. We used to go for walks - we’d take our daughter up to the Wenallt. The views up there are spectacular - looking across to Caerphilly and out over the channel.” Gerald reminisces about Rhiwbina but confesses that he didn’t get too much of an opportunity to appreciate the village as much as he would have liked. “As rugby was s,ll an amateur sport at that ,me, most of my playing days were spent living out of a suitcase. Players in the modern game get paid to play and can devote all their ,me to training. In our case, we had to fit rugby around our day jobs. “That’s not to say that we were in any way be-er than the players now -professionalism has made the game more dynamic. Tac,cs
are different, styles have changed and players are bigger and more powerful,” says the man who was renowned for his speed. As he speaks however, it becomes clear that it’s not just fleet of foot that makes Gerald remarkable. His calming, soothing voice masks a rapier-like thinking. Gerald himself developed his speed as a sprinter and took inspira,on from two legends. “Carwyn James, I could see every Saturday down at Stradey Park, and the other player, who I never got to see that o en was Cliff Morgan.” In November 2007, Gerald was named as manager of the 2009 Bri,sh and Irish Lions Tour. “The appointment of a coach is s,ll a way off. We’re speaking to the people who have been there before - the people who have succeeded, and we are going to see how things lie a er the Six Na,ons”. Photo couretsy of Western Mail