Latest news with #HenWladFyNhadau
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wales brush aside Liechtenstein to maintain Bellamy's unbeaten reign
The unbeaten reign of Craig Bellamy continued as his Wales side propelled themselves to the top of their World Cup qualifying group with a thumping win. Bellamy was appointed head coach in July 2024 and the national side have drawn four and won five under him. Wales leapfrogged North Macedonia, who drew 1-1 to Belgium on Friday. The Red Devils are only just getting their qualifiers under way because they were involved in Nations League playoffs in March. Advertisement Related: Squad goals: Toney's inclusion offers window into Tuchel's England approach Belgium are the favourites to top the group with the prize for doing so automatic qualification. But Wales's great run has put them in a good position to challenge Domenico Tedesco's Belgium, who they play on Monday and have a history of upsetting with that famous 3-1 win in the quarter-finals of Euro 2016. Wales were firmly focused on the opposition in front of them and on Friday Liechtenstein made their presence known. While the visiting fans were heavily outnumbered, they were the ones in the car park pre-match who could be heard singing songs and shouting chants. They made the trip to see if their side could end a 35-game losing streak, which has lasted five years. The two countries have met three times before with Wales victorious on all three occasions and Liechtenstein were winless in their past 43 World Cup qualifiers. The hosts were undoubtedly huge favourites and under cloudy conditions they ensured Liechtenstein's wait for a win continued. Advertisement Whistling, boos and chants of 'Wales' drowned out Liechtenstein's national anthem before the spine-tingling Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau began. The music was cut to allow the Wales supporters to belt out the anthem. They played their part and it was the players turn to perform. Harry Wilson, who returned after missing the March qualifiers with injury, took an early free-kick and went for goal but his attempt was fired wide. Wales kept up the pressure, particularly through the attacking spark of Sorba Thomas, but the visitors soaked it up. While it was all Wales in the early stages, it was not all good news for the hosts as they were forced into an early change with Neco Williams off with injury. He needed a stretcher with a suspected hamstring problem and was shaking his head as he was wheeled along the touchline. Kieffer Moore and Ben Davies had close chances but Brennan Johnson, the Spurs hero from the Europa League final, came closest with a deft touch. Advertisement Benjamin Büchel, who has won Liechtenstein's player of the year three seasons in a row, made an incredible save. Ethan Ampadu, also returning to the side, was the next to take a shot with a bicycle kick almost beating Büchel but the Vaduz keeper nudged it over the bar. Liechtenstein had been well-drilled in defence but the simplest of set pieces unpicked the deadlock. A good delivery from Thomas allowed Joe Rodon to head home and so the half-time score stood at 1-0. Wales continued with their relentless attack but the visitors reverted to a brick wall with chances continually repelled. That was until Wilson headed an excellent shot, his fifth goal in seven games under Bellamy. The Fulham forward is the top scorer under the head coach. Moore then got his goal with a tap in before a ripple of applause came over the crowd in the 68th minute in memory of The Alarm's Mike Peters, who sang Wales's Euro 2020 anthem. He was an avid supporter of the team who died in April. The 68th minute was chosen in honour of The Alarm hit 68 Guns. Advertisement The pace of the game slowed but the result was already sewn up with it equalling the best win under Bellamy after a 4-1 victory against Iceland in the Nations League in November. Wales face their toughest test against Belgium in a few day's time and they will have to make history if they want to come away with maximum points as they have never won a match in Belgium.
Telegraph
16-03-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
I watched Wales get obliterated surrounded by Englishmen – it was one of worst days of my life
Saturday's obliteration by England was about as bad as it gets for Wales. Some Welshmen might have been quietly confident before the game; apropos of nothing, I was loudly confident and genuinely thought we would win. England 's apparent nervousness, the Welsh with nothing to lose, the Principality Stadium roof closed to enhance the 'Cardiff cauldron' – it was all set up for a repeat of 2013, or so I thought as I blasted out the anthem to a standing ovation in the bar at Malvern RFC. The barmaid even said my rendition of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau had given her goosebumps – that compliment turned out to be the highlight of my afternoon. I was at Malvern for a poignant reason. My former Worcester Students RFC team-mate was taken from us far too early. He had already beaten cancer. It came back. And that was that. In honour of our fallen friend, Jonpaul McGrane, we dusted off the boots, and despite some of the boys having not played for 15 years, managed to beat Malvern 41-29. There were flickers of our former best, and then it was time for the Six Nations main event. Brimming with Welsh pride and unfounded confidence, I did not hold back, telling my English friends that we would batter Steve Borthwick's men. Goodness me, how wrong I was. After Maro Itoje had dotted down the first try in just the third minute, I told an old friend that, at the current rate, England would win 210-0 and anything less would be considered a win for Wales. I was joking, of course, but as the daylight faded it started to feel more real. Wales briefly threatened to bite back – but it was ultimately akin to the kind of half-hearted threat a grumpy dad might make if annoyed and was never going to amount to anything. By half-time the contest was done and dusted. Thankfully, I had a raffle to sort out in the clubhouse, which helped take my mind off the whole debacle. My best friends, and those who are usually the most merciless, just did not care. I vividly remember 2013, when Wales ruthlessly shot down England's Grand Slam hopes. Watching that game with the same boys from Worcester Uni, I was insufferable. Dancing, shouting and just generally being horribly obnoxious. On Saturday, I got to know what my English counterparts felt like. But then... another twist. As England romped to victory, I could have usually expected a torrent of abuse. If I can rely on my friends for anything, it is abuse. The saddest thing about Wales's 17th straight loss? I got nothing, worse than nothing. The men who would have usually been in my face revelling in Welsh rugby's demise turned to me and said: 'It's not fun when you're this bad.' I am 37, but this is as bad as I have known it. Sympathy from Englishmen hurts more than mockery. Matt Sherratt is a brilliant club coach, but, after signs of hope in the loss to Ireland, I have never known a shorter-lived new-coach bounce – and one that did not even result in a win. All we got were glimpses of improvement – and even that might not be enough to chuck the monkey off our back. Wales are off to Japan in the summer, which should present us with a chance for that elusive victory. But hoping for a morale-boosting triumph over Japan is a measure of how low Welsh rugby has fallen. Even with a fully fit squad available, I am confident of a win. The only saving grace is that we have been so bad that very few Welsh players will be on this year's Lions tour. The bigger question is who on earth would want to coach Wales now? The country that expects everything but delivers absolutely nothing. The future could not be bleaker. Another measure of Welsh rugby's demise was evident on Saturday – a man wearing a Welsh flag as a shirt and being as Welsh as he could possibly be should have been booted out of an English rugby club. Instead, I was embraced and told 'you'll turn a corner'. That might just be the biggest insult of all.
The Independent
15-03-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Ruthless England sign off in style with Wales thrashing to keep Six Nations title hopes alive
An anxious wait they may face to find out if they are Six Nations champions but England simply could not have done any more. In the week we wondered how Steve Borthwick 's side would handle the pressure of a Cardiff cauldron, whether they were capable of seizing the moment with a title potentially in reach. Those questions were answered most definitively by one of England's best performances in years. The champagne may be on ice, nails to be nibbled as they wait and see if Scotland can do them a favour in Paris, but one cannot accuse Steve Borthwick's side of failing to grasp their opportunity in a 10-try thrashing. There was no need for a gnawing of fingers during the 80 minutes; no reason, really, for the heart rate to spike. An England side that has been content to trade punches with outmatched opposition much too often finally found the dominant, domineering performance that a nation of such resources should be producing far more often. This felt like a high watermark for the Steve Borthwick era, however close England came to stunning South Africa in a semi-final slugfest. Wales, meanwhile, fall further into the pit of despair, a 17th defeat in succession all the more demoralising given the identity of the opposition. Having watched his side be played off their own patch so decisively, Matt Sherratt may be glad to be to be returning to the comforting cocoon of his Cardiff club. His interim stint is not overly diminished by one very, very bad day – but Warren Gatland 's permanent successor, whenever they arrive, has quite the job on their hands. The equation for England had been made simpler by events in Rome, where a scratchy, sloppy Ireland had failed to produce the right mathematics to boost their points difference above that of Borthwick's side. That meant a win of any kind enough for England to usurp the temporary table toppers. Cardiff had been busy and buoyant from early on the city's favourite sporting day, the home fans singing their hopeful hymns and arias, wishing for the Welsh woe to end. 16 consecutive defeats suggested little reason for confidence but there was a strange sense that this could be one of those days: Scott Gibbs at Wembley in 1999, Gavin Henson shaving away in 2005. How wrong they were. The perfect purr of the late, great Eddie Butler provided further optimistic overtones ahead of kick off, but it took only a matter of minutes for home hopes to be punctured. Maro Itoje revealed during the week that he fills the time during the opposition's anthem visualising how the opening minutes will play out; if not spellbound by a stunning rendition of 'Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau', the England captain surely would have been manifesting precisely this start. After a penalty granted England easy entry into the Welsh 22, a nifty maul manoeuvre created room on the fringes. There was a suspicion of a knock on as the ball popped up to Itoje, but the officials saw no reason to disallow the score once the visiting skipper had biffed through inside three minutes. So much for a Cardiff cacophony; England had quietened the crowd. The home fans thought they had reason to cheer five minutes later but Blair Murray's try was called back for an offside. Instead, the prevailing refrain was that of sweet chariots as Tom Roebuck, impressive on his first international start, carried a defender home after a wide pass from Fin Smith. So far, so good for England, though disaster soon threatened to strike. Ollie Chessum had been ticking, steam rising from a reddening face past his scarlet curls as he relished the niggle and needle. But the lock did himself a mischief having launched into a howitzer tackle on Ben Thomas – with Borthwick eschewing specialist lock cover on a bold bench, Chandler Cunningham-South would have to go 60 minutes in an engine room with which he is not wholly familiar. Chessum's departure gave Wales a brief lift. Murray appeared set to scamper home for an opportunistic score only to be somehow reeled in by a remarkable tap tackle from Luke Cowan-Dickie, a sliver of ankle just enough to send the full-back tumbling to the floor. It felt a fitting image for a game where Wales could not find their footing. Thomas sauntered under the sticks after a strong lineout drive to at least get the hosts on the board, but it wasn't long before England kicked out of sight. Freeman's history-making moment came on 35 minutes, the wing-cum-centre capitalising on sharp work from club colleagues Smith and Fraser Dingwall, along with another bright and burly rumble from Roebuck, to complete the set, becoming the first Englishman to register in all five games in a single Six Nations campaign. When Cunningham-South bashed over mere moments later, the bonus point was in the bag. Everything was coming up red rose; the daffodil petals were wilting. Ellis Genge 's header inadvertently set Dingwall scuttling free, allowing Will Stuart to mark his 50th cap and a fine tournament with a neatly-taken try. Five first-half tries and a 26-point advantage would have felt inconceivable before kick off, despite the pair's respective Six Nations states. Wales had roared back from a similar half-time deficit against Scotland seven days previously but one felt that the title chasers would keep their focus rather more than Gregor Townsend's clan. With Ben Earl and the Curry twins scavenging like hyenas – each turnover and tackle seeming to bring an excited cackle – Wales simply could not find their flow. An early second half chance came and went as Max Llewellyn and Aaron Wainwright contrived to fumble Ellis Mee's ambitious offload. England were forced into another contingency plan, Earl relocated to the centres after injury to Freeman and Henry Pollock on for a debut in the back row. The circumstances could not have been better to explore the strategy given the control of the contest. Daly followed Genge's lead with a headed assist as Alex Mitchell picked up the loose ball to score. Pollock made it a magnificent seven tries; replacement tighthead Joe Heyes brought up the 50 with a look of disbelief. He wasn't alone. A consolation from Thomas was repiled to instantly as the hugely exciting Pollock snared a second, and England were still on cloud nine even as Cunningham-South made it 10 tries. The Principality Stadium will be kept ready for a possible English triumph, the players returning from their hotel to tote the trophy on their way if France fall short. Regardless of the result in Paris, England have something to celebrate having signed off in such style.
The Guardian
13-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Geraint Jarman obituary
Geraint Jarman, who has died aged 74, was an influential figure in the arts in Wales, as a musician, poet, actor and film-maker, as well as a mentor to younger artists. He always performed and wrote in Welsh, his mother tongue, but he brought influences into his work from European poetry, new wave, reggae, country, rock and beyond, keen to demonstrate that Wales was part of a broader cultural world. Starting with Gobaith Mawr Y Ganrif (The Great Hope of the Century, 1976), for which he was shot in denim on the cover, in monochrome, like a hip singer-songwriter, Jarman released nine albums in 10 years on the independent Welsh language record label, Sain, several with his multicultural band, Y Cynganeddwyr (its name a playful reference to an ancient Welsh poetic form, still used in eisteddfod competitions), and eight more over the next 30 years. His singing, and approach to his subjects, could be sweet, spiky or playful. Tracks on Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (Land of My Fathers, 1978) include a cover of the Welsh national anthem, slathered in feedback by his bandmate, the guitarist Tich Gwilym, as well as Ethiopia Newydd (New Ethiopia), inspired by rastafarianism, and an impish love song, Merch Tŷ Cyngor (Council House Girl). Reggae also features prominently, a genre for which Jarman's passion grew in the 1970s through the Casablanca Club in Cardiff (which he discussed, in a rare English interview, on a 2021 Radio Wales documentary), and later he recorded two all-reggae albums, Cariad Cwantwm (Quantum Love, 2018) and Cwantwm Dub (Quantum Dub, 2020). Jarman influenced Welsh bands, including Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and Ffa Coffi Pawb (members of which formed Super Furry Animals, for whom Jarman directed a documentary of their first global tour, Poptastic, in 1997). Both acts featured on Fideo 9, the music show Jarman co-produced with his TV company Criw Byw (Live Crew) between 1988 and 1992, for the Welsh-language channel S4C. Welsh language bands were paid to make videos for the show, using state-of-the-art equipment, which were then broadcast at prime time on Thursday evenings. Cerys Matthews also sang on Jarman's 1994 cassette release Y Ceubal Y Crossbar A'r Quango (The Ferryboat, the Crossbar and the Quango), shortly before Catatonia's mainstream success. The Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys praised his 'cultural curiosity … he brought a new critical and urban outlook to Welsh-speaking culture.' Born in Denbigh, north Wales, Geraint was the second of three children, and the only son, of Emrys, an accountant and Myfanwy (nee Owen), a primary school teacher. The family moved to Cardiff when he was four, and Geraint went to Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Bryntaf, the city's first Welsh language primary school. With his older sister, Tanwen, he sang with the Pontcanna children's choir, and they performed often on the ITV Welsh music programme Gwlad Y Gân (Land of Song). At Cathays high school, he was in the same class as the future football manager Terry Yorath. However, Jarman was often to be found skiving in local cafes, he admitted in a 2015 interview with Wales Online, writing verse inspired by the poets Pablo Neruda and Constantine Cavafy. After leaving school, he met Heather Jones, a singer, and they married in 1969. He wrote songs for her, and with the singer-songwriter Meic Stevens, the couple formed a pastiche folk-rock group Bara Menyn (Bread and Butter). Its name was a reference to their need to make money so they could pursue other projects. They were signed by Lupus Music, alongside T-Rex and Pink Floyd, and released two EPs in 1969. Jarman published a first volume of poetry, Eira Cariad (Snow Love), in 1970, which was followed by Cerddi Alfred St (Alfred Street Poems, 1976) and Cerbyd Cydwybod (Vehicle of Conscience, 2012). The editors of the 2017 Welsh literature anthology The Old Red Tongue, Gwyn Griffiths and Meic Stephens, described his writing as 'freewheeling … both whimsical and enigmatic, [with] a wide range of feeling which gives his work a serious, lyrical and haunted note'. He also co-wrote a folk-rock opera with Stevens about environmental issues, Etifeddiaeth Drwy'r Mwg (Inheritance Through the Smoke), which was broadcast on HTV in 1970 as 'an experiment for St David's Day'. As an actor, he worked in fringe theatre and TV, appearing in 1977 as PC Gordon Hughes in the BBC Wales police station comedy-drama Glas Y Dorlan (Kingfisher), and as a student in the 1978 BBC drama Off To Philadelphia in the Morning. He was also the voice of Superted in the original Welsh language version of the children's cartoon. His autobiography, Twrw Jarman (Jarman's Noise) was published in 2011. In 2017, he won a special contribution award from the Welsh music magazine Y Selar. He collaborated widely through the years, working with the experimental dub/hip hop group Llwybr Llaethog, the folk singer Gareth Bonello, and his three daughters, as singers, both live and on record. His marriage to Jones ended in divorce. He is survived by his second wife, Nia Caron, whom he married in 1987, and their daughters, Hanna and Mared; by his daughter Lisa, from his first marriage; and by his sisters, Tanwen and Catrin. Geraint Rhys Maldwyn Jarman, musician, writer, actor and film-maker, born 17 August 1950; died 3 March 2025
