0:00:01 > 0:00:03That's better. Close on him.
0:00:03 > 0:00:05'Carwyn James was arguably
0:00:05 > 0:00:09'the greatest coach the Welsh team never had.'
0:00:09 > 0:00:11Every single one of you think about it,
0:00:11 > 0:00:12think about it, think about it.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14It's a thinking game.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20For Carwyn, rugby was a form of art.
0:00:20 > 0:00:21We play to win.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25But secondly, the manner of winning matters a great deal.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27He was an aesthetic man, a sensitive man,
0:00:27 > 0:00:29a liberal-minded man.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31And when you have those qualities,
0:00:31 > 0:00:36as well as the knowledge and intelligence about the game,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39It seems so stupid to waste it.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42As a sportsman, scholar and politician,
0:00:42 > 0:00:45Carwyn lived his life in the public gaze.
0:00:45 > 0:00:51He could see very far and he wanted to go far.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54And he did go far.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57Yet, a quarter of a century after his death,
0:00:57 > 0:01:00he remains an enigma.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23Carwyn James was born in 1929 in the Gwendraeth Valley,
0:01:23 > 0:01:27on the western edge of the South Wales Coalfield.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33RECORDING OF CARWYN JAMES: I was born and brought up
0:01:33 > 0:01:36in this industrial village, Cefneithin,
0:01:36 > 0:01:39located literally under the shadow of the coal tips.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41The black pyramids are part of the scenery,
0:01:41 > 0:01:44a symbol of economic wealth.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48It is sobering to think how much mineral wealth has left this valley.
0:01:48 > 0:01:54Carwyn's father, Michael James, was a miner at Cross Hands Colliery.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56He and his wife, Anne, had four children,
0:01:56 > 0:01:59of whom Carwyn was the youngest.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02Carwyn's sister, Gwen,
0:02:02 > 0:02:05played an important role in his life from the start.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09Well, I had to look after him when he was a small baby
0:02:09 > 0:02:12because my other brother had diphtheria.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16My mother looked after him and I looked after Carwyn.
0:02:16 > 0:02:22I suppose we started - from a very early age -
0:02:22 > 0:02:24being great friends.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28One of Carwyn's earliest memories was as a three-year-old,
0:02:28 > 0:02:31pleading with his father to take him to see a rugby game
0:02:31 > 0:02:33in the field behind their house.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36VOICE OF CARWYN JAMES I'm afraid to watch on my own
0:02:36 > 0:02:39and I don't like to hear the people shouting.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43Their voices, coarse and primitive, frighten me.
0:02:45 > 0:02:50I hold my father's large, warm, collier's hand
0:02:50 > 0:02:53and I feel safe.
0:02:53 > 0:02:58It wasn't long before Carwyn took to the field himself.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01He enjoyed football, cricket and rugby
0:03:01 > 0:03:04and showed a natural gift for all.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07They were extremely happy days
0:03:07 > 0:03:10but there were certain fears, inevitably.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13The fear of seeing an ambulance, for instance, coming round the corner.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17When a number of us used to play soccer or cricket
0:03:17 > 0:03:19our eyes would then be, riveted on this ambulance
0:03:19 > 0:03:24hoping that it would not stop outside one's own house.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28If Carwyn needed an escape
0:03:28 > 0:03:31from the harsh realities of life in a mining village,
0:03:31 > 0:03:33he found it here.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39To arrive in a little village in South Cardiganshire,
0:03:39 > 0:03:41where my mother was born,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44is like entering the promised land.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49I know I belong, that my roots are here,
0:03:49 > 0:03:53far away from the realities of life.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57The school, the black pyramids, the dread of the ambulance
0:03:57 > 0:04:00and the disturbing siren.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07Back in Cefneithin,
0:04:07 > 0:04:10Carwyn was making his mark at Gwendraeth Grammar School
0:04:10 > 0:04:13where he was Head Prefect and captain of the school rugby team,
0:04:13 > 0:04:16under the guidance of Sports master, Gwynfil Rees.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21He had one weakness, he didn't like to tackle at all.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24Carwyn's idea of a good tackle was to let the boy go past him
0:04:24 > 0:04:27and then he'd nip behind him, ankle-tap him
0:04:27 > 0:04:30and the boy was down and Carwyn was quite happy about it.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33But we decided that perhaps he should tackle properly.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36So I took the school hooker out -
0:04:36 > 0:04:38and he's vice-captain by the way, Dilwyn Roberts -
0:04:38 > 0:04:42and we made Carwyn tackle him.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45We gave him the ball, he rushed at Carwyn time and time again
0:04:45 > 0:04:46and Carwyn had to tackle him.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51The other great influence in Carwyn's life
0:04:51 > 0:04:54was Welsh mistress Miss Dora Williams.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57She introduced Carwyn to the poems of Gwenallt
0:04:57 > 0:04:59and arranged for him and other pupils
0:04:59 > 0:05:04to listen to the first radio broadcasts by the poet, T H Parry-Williams.
0:05:04 > 0:05:11Soon, Carwyn wanted to follow in the footsteps of these literary giants.
0:05:11 > 0:05:12He intended going up to Aberystwyth
0:05:12 > 0:05:16to do Welsh under Parry-Williams and Gwenallt and others
0:05:16 > 0:05:19and he found out that I had also done Welsh with them up there.
0:05:19 > 0:05:24Very often, on rugby trips, it was quite amusing really.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Whereas before, we'd go on a trip and he'd sit next to me -
0:05:27 > 0:05:30he was my captain so he'd sit next to me -
0:05:30 > 0:05:32we'd have a chat about what we were going to do,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35tactics for the game and what the team was like.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37And he was thriving then,
0:05:37 > 0:05:41he seemed to know more about the opposing school teams than I did.
0:05:41 > 0:05:46We'd discuss it, but after that, very often we'd talk about poetry.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50About Sir T H Parry-Williams, what was Gwenallt like as a lecturer
0:05:50 > 0:05:51and things like that.
0:05:51 > 0:05:58In 1948, Carwyn got a place studying Welsh at Aberystwyth University.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00By the time he left Cefneithin,
0:06:00 > 0:06:02he'd won six schoolboy caps for Wales
0:06:02 > 0:06:06and had played for Llanelli
0:06:06 > 0:06:09I was the unfortunate Outside Half of the college at the time, you see
0:06:09 > 0:06:13so I'd been back from the Navy for two years at that time
0:06:13 > 0:06:16and been the Outside Half in the side
0:06:16 > 0:06:19and here was this genius coming up from Gwendraeth
0:06:19 > 0:06:24and I'd really thought, "Well, this is the end of my time."
0:06:24 > 0:06:26But unfortunately for Carwyn, of course,
0:06:26 > 0:06:29I was then the captain that year
0:06:29 > 0:06:32and the captain in Aberystwyth is always the chairman of selectors
0:06:32 > 0:06:35and poor old Carwyn didn't have a hope for the first year.
0:06:35 > 0:06:40Carwyn initially contented himself with playing for the second team
0:06:40 > 0:06:42and for Aberystwyth Town.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45But he also found time to engage in Nationalist Politics,
0:06:45 > 0:06:50becoming president of the college branch of Plaid Cymru in 1951.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54This particular aura, as a rugby figure,
0:06:54 > 0:06:57drew people to the party meetings
0:06:57 > 0:06:59that would never come there otherwise.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02So they were very well attended with the usual crowd
0:07:02 > 0:07:08plus the rugby element that came in tow with Carwyn.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11I remember once, when he was due to play for us on a Saturday,
0:07:11 > 0:07:14he blithly said on the Friday, "I can't come tomorrow,
0:07:14 > 0:07:16"I'm lying on the railway line in Tregaron."
0:07:16 > 0:07:18It was the time when British Rail
0:07:18 > 0:07:21were threatening to close the Carmarthen - Aberystwyth line
0:07:21 > 0:07:24and Carwyn felt very strongly about this.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26And for Carwyn to give up a game of rugby
0:07:26 > 0:07:29the principle must have been strong indeed.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33NAVY OFFICER Number Ten! You'll never get anywhere acting like that!
0:07:33 > 0:07:34Come on, Rear Rank...
0:07:34 > 0:07:37'On leaving Aberystwyth in 1952,
0:07:37 > 0:07:39'Carwyn was called up for National Service.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41'The Royal Navy was on the look out
0:07:41 > 0:07:44'for promising young players for its rugby team.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48'It was arranged that Carwyn be posted to Portsmouth.'
0:07:48 > 0:07:51With Britain engaged in the Cold War,
0:07:51 > 0:07:55Leading Coder James, DMX918946,
0:07:55 > 0:07:57was required to learn Russian.
0:07:57 > 0:08:03VOICE OF CARWYN JONES: I hated the whole idea of being in a military establishment.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06I resented having to do National Service
0:08:06 > 0:08:08and having taking an Honours Degree,
0:08:08 > 0:08:11I found five hours of Russian per day,
0:08:11 > 0:08:15plus an inordinate amount of preparation in the evening very tiresom.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18During his time in Portsmouth,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21Carwyn played for both the Royal Navy and the London Welsh,
0:08:21 > 0:08:26whom he led to victory in the 1954 seven-a-side tournament at Twickenham.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30After leaving the Navy, Carwyn became a teacher.
0:08:30 > 0:08:31First in Carmarthen,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34and then at Llandovery college, where he taught Welsh.
0:08:34 > 0:08:39At Llandovery, the 40 cigarettes Carwyn smoked a day
0:08:39 > 0:08:42earned him the nickname "Kipper".
0:08:42 > 0:08:46'Ten past nine or so maybe, we'd go and wake him up.'
0:08:46 > 0:08:48"Coffee's ready, Mr James," and all that.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52And he would then come in, in his dressing gown,
0:08:52 > 0:08:56drink his black coffee - no sugar, no milk .
0:08:56 > 0:08:59Then he'd read his correspondence.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02If there were interesting letters he'd read them out to us.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06Read the West Mail, JBG Thomas' article in particular.
0:09:06 > 0:09:11Erm... And then it was simply time to end the lesson.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23Llandovery College had a fine reputation for rugby
0:09:23 > 0:09:26and Carwyn learned a great deal as Assistant Coach
0:09:26 > 0:09:28to legendary Sports master, T P Williams.
0:09:28 > 0:09:33Carwyn was still playing regularly for Llanelli
0:09:33 > 0:09:37and in 1958, he won his first full cap for Wales, against Australia.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40Shoving the Australians now.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43Gwyn Evans to Carwyn James, a drop at goal.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45And a very good try!
0:09:45 > 0:09:47And it's over!
0:09:47 > 0:09:53The game created quite a stir in Cefneithin.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56A little village like this? 800 odd people? He was the king, the hero.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59He was everything rolled into one.
0:09:59 > 0:10:05For all of us, as I said, we were a lot of boys in the village, sport was the big thing,
0:10:05 > 0:10:07Liverpool, Manchester United and the rest of it.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10But rugby was...it was big.
0:10:10 > 0:10:15To get one of the blokes in the village, can you imagine? Playing for Wales. Unheard of.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19Fantastic. Not only that, he went on his first game, he dropped the goal.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23He had Christmas, everything, rolled into one on the same day.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25My hero at that time was Carwyn James.
0:10:25 > 0:10:31Simply because he had this magical quality of being able to side-step.
0:10:31 > 0:10:36An electrifying thing, to see it happen, so cleverly done,
0:10:36 > 0:10:39so easily, it seems to me, to outwit the opponents.
0:10:39 > 0:10:40I loved watching that.
0:10:40 > 0:10:47Of course, that, I would say, did have some influence on the way I played later on.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51But Carwyn only ever played twice for Wales.
0:10:51 > 0:10:56His career as a player was doomed to be overshadowed by that of another outstanding outside half.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58Here goes Cliff Morgan.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02A superb try that makes it 14-3!
0:11:02 > 0:11:06I always thought, "Why did I play for Wales more times than Carwyn?"
0:11:06 > 0:11:08Because I was stronger.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11My old gamesmaster used to say, "You've got to have strength."
0:11:11 > 0:11:14He wrote on my school report, "Cliff Morgan, not very good in class,
0:11:14 > 0:11:17"his biggest asset is his buttocks."
0:11:17 > 0:11:21He believed you had to have big buttocks to be able to ride tackles.
0:11:21 > 0:11:28Carwyn was naturally slim and elegant and I was squat and rather nasty in that sense.
0:11:28 > 0:11:34I loved playing against him, he always had a smile, he was a cheeky little thing.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36He used to always do that, show you the ball.
0:11:40 > 0:11:41That's better.
0:11:41 > 0:11:42Close on him, Gareth.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47Eyes on the ball, John.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50It was off the field that Carwyn found his true niche.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54In the late 60s, he was chosen to coach the team closest to his heart.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56Llanelli.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01Just bend the knees.
0:12:01 > 0:12:07Then just straighten your knees. You'll get that forward thrust then.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10Bend it slightly, we'll watch it this time. Down you go.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14Carwyn brought his skills as a teacher to the rugby field.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17He was never the heavy handed, brutal coach.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21He was always the guy who dragged it out of young people.
0:12:21 > 0:12:22- Coaxed.- Coaxed it out of them.
0:12:22 > 0:12:28He could appeal to the really rough, tough guys, the big men.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32The toughest men. People like Norman Gale, Stuart Gallacher.
0:12:32 > 0:12:37And he also had this appeal to the more creative, artistic players.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40JJ Williams and Phil Bennett.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43We know what we're setting out to do.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47The important thing is, we want a fluid, fluid sort of game.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50We want to move this ball around as much as we possibly can.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54He made you feel important, that you were that little bit special.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58I think that's one of the great secrets of his success.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01That he made players, sometimes, something they weren't.
0:13:01 > 0:13:07I want to see you get a good tackle in in the first minute or two. Right down, down on that ball.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09Hit the man hard.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12Then you can play your creative stuff.
0:13:12 > 0:13:20You can make players feel better, and they're better players if you convince them that they are.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22Think about it, that's the important thing.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26Every single one of you, think about it, think about it, think about it.
0:13:26 > 0:13:27It's a thinking game.
0:13:27 > 0:13:34I feel, let the boys have the chance to develop on any ideas that they have.
0:13:34 > 0:13:40And in this way, I think that they're just as creative as I am.
0:13:40 > 0:13:45And they are contributing, they know they're contributing and they're enjoying the process.
0:13:45 > 0:13:50- And this is the right way, I would have thought...- Directing a play. - Directing a play!
0:13:50 > 0:13:55Two often you get producers who say, "This is the way to say the line. Copy me."
0:13:55 > 0:13:57This is bad producing, I think.
0:13:57 > 0:14:03Carwyn moved freely between the worlds of sport, the arts and politics.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06In the 1970 general election,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09he stood as Plaid Cymru's candidate in Llanelli.
0:14:09 > 0:14:15The sense of Welshness that had been fostered in him during his childhood in Cefneithin,
0:14:15 > 0:14:18was central to his political beliefs.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21The spirit of Wales is born in the farmhouse.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23In the cottage by the brook.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25In the coal miners' home.
0:14:25 > 0:14:31And if it be not fostered, the Welsh nation will become nearly derivative and second rate.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34Man has a pride. He needs work.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37HE SPEAKS WELSH
0:14:37 > 0:14:41And he needs work, not in Durham or in the Midlands,
0:14:41 > 0:14:43but here in Wales where his roots are.
0:14:45 > 0:14:50A fortnight before the election, Carwyn was called to the East India club in London.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54He'd applied for the job of coach on the next British Lions tour of New Zealand.
0:14:54 > 0:14:59The Lions' selection committee enquired about his political ambitions.
0:14:59 > 0:15:05I made two points. That I was competing with all my might to win the seat,
0:15:05 > 0:15:09even though the Labour majority was well over 20,000.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13And, that in the current issue of the Llanelli Star
0:15:13 > 0:15:18the odds quoted against the Plaid Cymru candidate were 10,000/1 against.
0:15:18 > 0:15:23So I politely offered to take the committee's pounds back home
0:15:23 > 0:15:27in the hope that they would all make a quick 10,000.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31No offers were forthcoming.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38When he came back from London, he said,
0:15:38 > 0:15:41"I will not get that job, because, it's my politics."
0:15:43 > 0:15:46So I said to him, "If you've told them the truth
0:15:46 > 0:15:52"you'll probably get it, because they'll have some belief in you."
0:15:53 > 0:15:58Carwyn lost the election, but was awarded the job of coaching the Lions
0:15:58 > 0:16:01on their 1971 tour of New Zealand.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04The Lions had never before won a test series anywhere.
0:16:04 > 0:16:09And it was my enjoyable task to try and combine the skills and the different styles
0:16:09 > 0:16:13of the four home countries into a team which could play as a British unit,
0:16:13 > 0:16:18but at the same time, take full advantage of the individual flair of the players on that tour.
0:16:18 > 0:16:23I doubt very much as to whether I would have been able to go on the Lions tour
0:16:23 > 0:16:25had it not been for Carwyn's influence.
0:16:25 > 0:16:30All I know is, and I mean this, if Carwyn had not been the coach in New Zealand,
0:16:30 > 0:16:33I doubt very much if I'd gone.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37I had a chat with him and I said, "I'm not one of these to do millions of press-ups
0:16:37 > 0:16:41"and gallop 28 miles before a game. As long as I can prepare myself."
0:16:41 > 0:16:44He didn't say, "No, you'll do as you want, that's wrong."
0:16:44 > 0:16:46He'll say, "Don't worry about that."
0:16:46 > 0:16:48With the team, he was absolutely superb.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51He was their friend, the guider.
0:16:51 > 0:16:56He did everything necessary to make the boys feel happy.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59And the boys did feel happy with Carwyn as coach.
0:16:59 > 0:17:04In 63 years, the Lions had never won a test series in New Zealand.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08Carwyn approached the challenge with military rigour.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11He compiled a dossier on New Zealand's clubs and players.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15He visited Manchester United to learn from their training methods.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19He travelled to Wigan to study Rugby League techniques.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21They are our enemies, we want to beat them.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25And my mind at the moment is on that first test.
0:17:25 > 0:17:30We'll work it from there. If we can win that first test, we may well win a series.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36Barry John, taking very little time in preparation.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40In the first test, things initially looked good for the Lions.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42And he's done it!
0:17:42 > 0:17:466 points to 3 now, with the Lions in the lead.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49But the All-Blacks responded with a ferocious onslaught
0:17:49 > 0:17:50in the second half.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54The Lions have got to get this clear now, this pressure by the All-Blacks,
0:17:54 > 0:17:56that is tremendous. Cliff Patrick, one yard up.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58He's got to be held up.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00Brilliant tackle by John Taylor.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03One yard short, this is mammoth.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06The most exciting few minutes I've ever seen.
0:18:06 > 0:18:11The Lions held fast, winning by 9 points to 3.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14The Kiwis had been taken by surprise,
0:18:14 > 0:18:18and they had no idea what to make of Carwyn.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21I don't think they really understood the quiet approach.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25Or the fact that there was a coach who was interested in the theatre,
0:18:25 > 0:18:28in drama, in literature and what have you.
0:18:28 > 0:18:29He's regarded a sissy.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34The All-Blacks had their revenge in the second test.
0:18:37 > 0:18:38What a try!
0:18:38 > 0:18:43They beat the Lions 22-12.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46With both teams on an equal pegging,
0:18:46 > 0:18:48the stakes were high when they met for a third time.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50Taylor's deflection.
0:18:50 > 0:18:51Edwards.
0:18:51 > 0:18:56He's at the end, can he get it to Barry John, and Barry John has scored!
0:18:56 > 0:18:59The Lions won the series for the first time in their history.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03They were greeted as conquering heroes on their return to Britain.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07But Carwyn had a word of warning for the rejoicing crowds.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12All I'd like to say is this. When the All-Blacks come here in 72,
0:19:12 > 0:19:15they'll be a good side, a hard side to beat.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19And I only hope that every side that will play against them
0:19:19 > 0:19:22will prepare thoroughly, because they'll have to give it their best
0:19:22 > 0:19:26if they're going to beat any New Zealand side that comes on tour here.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35When the All Blacks arrived in Britain in 1972,
0:19:35 > 0:19:39one of the teams facing them was Carwyn's Scarlets.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47This is Philip Bennett, happily recovered from injury.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50There is no breeze in the air at all.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52Two minutes after the first whistle,
0:19:52 > 0:19:54Llanelli were awarded a penalty.
0:19:54 > 0:19:55Bated breath...
0:19:55 > 0:19:58CHEERING
0:20:02 > 0:20:05The crossbar...
0:20:09 > 0:20:13Roy Bergiers is the happy man.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19A conversion by Phil Bennett made the score 6-0.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23Again, the hard part. To maintain and hold that lead,
0:20:23 > 0:20:25to actually beat the All Blacks, was a long way off.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27The game had only just started.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30And here's Hill.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32Llanelli with bated breath.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39CHEERING
0:20:41 > 0:20:44That's the scoreboard. The historic-looking scoreboard.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46Hopkins feeds.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49Roy Thomas does his stuff, together with Crocker and Llewellyn.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55WHISTLE BLASTS
0:20:59 > 0:21:03History has been made at Stradey Park.
0:21:03 > 0:21:04What a tremendous moment...
0:21:04 > 0:21:12I think, after that particular game, Carwyn, fleetingly - be it for a day, a week, a month -
0:21:12 > 0:21:19was at peace with himself. He had fulfilled what he believed he could do.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23Carwyn scored a second personal triumph that year,
0:21:23 > 0:21:27on stage at the Eisteddfod in Haverfordwest.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30As president of the day, he made a stirring speech
0:21:30 > 0:21:35that appealed to both radical and conservative elements in nationalist politics.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38It was the greatest performance, that was.
0:21:38 > 0:21:39That was marvellous.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43The script was his own, as well, which added to it.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45And he knew that he'd performed well that day.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49Of course, the applause was tremendous,
0:21:49 > 0:21:51and a long applause.
0:21:51 > 0:21:56Then, once it was over, he wanted away from there.
0:21:56 > 0:21:57That had finished.
0:21:57 > 0:22:02As it happened, I was nearby and he said, "Come on, let's go."
0:22:02 > 0:22:07And out of the Eisteddfod field straightaway, up the road a few miles to a quiet little pub
0:22:07 > 0:22:11where nobody knew him at all, to have a quiet drink there.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14Despite his gifts as a teacher and mentor,
0:22:14 > 0:22:18Carwyn could be a solitary, enigmatic character.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22It was difficult to get very close to Carwyn in that respect.
0:22:22 > 0:22:26People would get close to him in different aspects of his life.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30But as a complete being, I think it was an impossible task.
0:22:30 > 0:22:38Carwyn wasn't a committee man, and this was to deny him the ultimate prize in his profession.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42He had been passed over for the job of Welsh coach several times,
0:22:42 > 0:22:46and had stood for election as an officer of the Welsh Rugby Union
0:22:46 > 0:22:47without success.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51In 1974, frustrated by these rejections,
0:22:51 > 0:22:54Carwyn fired a shot across the bows of the WRU.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57He wrote them a letter in which he lay down the conditions
0:22:57 > 0:23:00under which he'd accept the job of national coach.
0:23:00 > 0:23:07In that letter, he imposed conditions which were totally unacceptable.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11Not unacceptable to the committee in general terms,
0:23:11 > 0:23:18but, in actual fact, if he'd have been appointed on the terms which he was demanding,
0:23:18 > 0:23:21it would have been against the constitution of the Union.
0:23:21 > 0:23:26It would have been an unconstitutional appointment because he really wanted to be
0:23:26 > 0:23:28the manager, supremo - call it what you will. -
0:23:28 > 0:23:32and the committee didn't have the powers to do that.
0:23:32 > 0:23:37So his application was immediately ruled out of court.
0:23:37 > 0:23:44It was...he himself, really, who caused this so-called rejection.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47He made such difficult demands.
0:23:47 > 0:23:52For instance, he wanted to be the sole coach and sole selector.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56I think that was something that, at that moment in time,
0:23:56 > 0:23:58the Welsh Rugby Union could not accept.
0:23:58 > 0:24:06And I think that... For the only time in his life, I felt he was slightly too autocratic.
0:24:06 > 0:24:12If he'd said to the Welsh Rugby Union, "I'll coach but it doesn't matter who the selectors are"...
0:24:12 > 0:24:16In the end, anyway, he'd have been the sole selector. He had that sort of personality.
0:24:16 > 0:24:24I think he would have had his way, but he did make too many demands, I think, at that moment of his life.
0:24:34 > 0:24:39In writing his letter, Carwyn ensured he would never coach the Welsh side.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41He turned, instead, to Italy.
0:24:41 > 0:24:47Carwyn spent two seasons coaching Rovigo, leading them to victory in the Italian Championship.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56Carwyn immersed himself in Italian culture.
0:24:56 > 0:25:01I have to read. What is the command in Italian?
0:25:01 > 0:25:06- Legga, per favore.- Legga, per favore.- Read, please.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08Legga. Grazie.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12Il sole e molto importante.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16Carwyn's Italian teacher in Rovigo, Angelo Morello,
0:25:16 > 0:25:22later said that Carwyn had been unable to express his true personality in his own country.
0:25:22 > 0:25:28That he had suffered from an inability to express his feelings.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32Particularly, his feelings of love.
0:25:37 > 0:25:45Carwyn's sexuality had been the subject of gossip and speculation for some time.
0:25:46 > 0:25:51Homosexuality was still a largely taboo subject in the Wales of the 1970s.
0:25:51 > 0:25:57He could not have led the life in Cefneithin that he did lead later in Cardiff
0:25:57 > 0:26:03because the constrictions of that small community would have been a great burden on him
0:26:03 > 0:26:05as he developed in life later on.
0:26:05 > 0:26:10And there were some things that would never have been accepted in his home community
0:26:10 > 0:26:14with a family and his friends at home. Things that would have been frowned on.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17He should have been a family man. He loved children.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19And he should have got married and brought up a family.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23That would have given him some incentive in life.
0:26:23 > 0:26:28Lots of things in Wales are kept quiet.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31Nobody knows anything about them.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34Be far better if things are not bottled up.
0:26:34 > 0:26:41It would give more people a chance to live their life as they would like to.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47Of course, they say life is what you make it.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50Not with everybody.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02During the '70s, Carwyn used his unique sporting insight
0:27:02 > 0:27:04to forge a new career for himself -
0:27:04 > 0:27:06in the media.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10His appearances on Sports Lineup were required viewing
0:27:10 > 0:27:13for anyone with the slightest interest in rugby.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18In this game, and in others that I have watched in Europe
0:27:18 > 0:27:19during the last couple of years,
0:27:19 > 0:27:23their approach against strong opposition is cautious.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26Life is extremely serious, the playing of games is serious,
0:27:26 > 0:27:30winning for the sake of national prestige is terribly important.
0:27:35 > 0:27:40By the 1980s, Carwyn was suffering a number of problems with his health.
0:27:40 > 0:27:45He had excruciatingly painful eczema, which affected almost every part of his body.
0:27:45 > 0:27:52And a lifetime of 40 cigarettes a day and countless gin and tonics was taking its toll.
0:27:57 > 0:28:03At the start of 1983, Carwyn took a holiday alone in Amsterdam.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09On the 10th January, he suffered a heart attack.
0:28:10 > 0:28:15The top rugby coach Carwyn James has died at the age of 53.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17He was found dead in a hotel room in Amsterdam,
0:28:17 > 0:28:19where he'd gone for a short holiday.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26Carwyn's friend and fellow outside half, Cliff Morgan, said at the time,
0:28:26 > 0:28:31"I know he's dead, but I don't have to believe it if I don't want to."
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