0:00:03 > 0:00:07- COMMENTATOR:- A kick through there by Mervyn Davies, he could score.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10The greatest number eight, arguably, that the world has ever seen.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13I mean, when you're talking about icons in rugby,
0:00:13 > 0:00:16this man generally was one.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20Mervyn Davies led one of the greatest sporting teams of all time.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23The Welsh rugby team of the mid-1970s.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26- COMMENTATOR:- JJ Williams must score.
0:00:27 > 0:00:33Mervyn Davies, captain of Wales, as they won the Grand Slam.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36But just as he was at the height of his powers,
0:00:36 > 0:00:38his career was cruelly cut short.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42What really brought it home was seeing the newspaper accounts,
0:00:42 > 0:00:45'Mervyn Davies fights for his life.'
0:00:45 > 0:00:48The challenges he then faced would be tougher than anything
0:00:48 > 0:00:50he'd experienced on the field.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10Thomas Mervyn Davies was born in Swansea in 1946.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14His father, Dai, was a welder and a keen rugby player
0:01:14 > 0:01:17who'd once played for Swansea as a number 8.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21When Mervyn was a boy, he made an important discovery about his dad.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25Being a typical naughty little boy, searching the cupboards
0:01:25 > 0:01:27in the wardrobe and places I shouldn't have been,
0:01:27 > 0:01:31there was this red jersey with the three feathers on it, you know.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34I didn't understand at all what it was.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36I did ask him, "What's this red jersey?"
0:01:36 > 0:01:39He explained that that was a Welsh international jersey
0:01:39 > 0:01:42that he won playing for Wales in the Victory Internationals,
0:01:42 > 0:01:46which were played immediately after the Second World War.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49It left its mark in the back my head, no doubt about that.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52# Up in the morning and out to school... #
0:01:52 > 0:01:56At the age of 11, Mervyn started at Penlan Multilateral School.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59Penlan was blessed with an enthusiastic games master
0:01:59 > 0:02:02called Gwyn Watts, who spotted Mervyn's potential.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05He was a natural basketball player
0:02:05 > 0:02:09and was also selected for the school rugby team.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11Mervyn started out as a winger
0:02:11 > 0:02:13but it soon became clear that he belonged in the pack,
0:02:13 > 0:02:17playing the physically, tougher role of number 8.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20He was like a spider monkey, Mervyn. He was all arms and legs.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23When he tried to get the ball off you,
0:02:23 > 0:02:27you just couldn't get away from him, he enveloped you, wrapped you up.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31# Let's go surfing now, everybody's learning now... #
0:02:31 > 0:02:34In 1965, Mervyn immersed himself in a whole new world
0:02:34 > 0:02:36of physical activity,
0:02:36 > 0:02:38when he left school to become a trainee teacher.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40At Swansea College of Education
0:02:40 > 0:02:43he was one of the gang of sport-loving students
0:02:43 > 0:02:47who made the best of their three years on the West Wales coast.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49We were either on, in or under the sea,
0:02:49 > 0:02:51snorkelling or scuba-diving.
0:02:51 > 0:02:52Surfing was a big thing.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54Of course, it was the '60s.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58Lots of different things changed in the '60s much to our pleasure.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02Swansea was definitely swinging in the '60s, we had some good times.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05It was at Swansea College that Mervyn met a young trainee teacher,
0:03:05 > 0:03:08who was studying divinity.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10I first met Mervyn when I was 18.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12He was six foot five,
0:03:12 > 0:03:16so yes he stood out and he had a mop of curly, dark hair.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20We went out a couple of times. He was fun, very friendly.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23He had a very good sense of humour but he was quiet.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26He'd be winding you up in the background and you wouldn't realise
0:03:26 > 0:03:30until all of a sudden you'd see him smiling and laughing.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32As a student, Mervyn pursued his love of sport,
0:03:32 > 0:03:34playing for the college rugby team.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37We played a lot of West William teams and farming teams,
0:03:37 > 0:03:40so he learnt the hard way, really because he'd be targeted.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42It'd be such a torture in the line-out.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47After college Mervyn and his friend Chris moved to Surrey
0:03:47 > 0:03:49to take teaching jobs in the same school.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51At Mytchett County Primary,
0:03:51 > 0:03:55Mervyn would spend one afternoon a week teaching the infants.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58That was like looking at Gulliver because he was so tall
0:03:58 > 0:04:00and these little ones would be up to his knees.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02He'd almost squash two or three when he turned around..
0:04:04 > 0:04:08In Surrey, Mervyn tried out for the London Welsh third team.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10After scoring three tries on his debut,
0:04:10 > 0:04:14he was moved up to the second but it would take a far greater leap
0:04:14 > 0:04:17for him to make the first 15 at London Welsh.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21One of the established stars of the first was wing forward, John Taylor.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26He wasn't on our radar as a star player, at all.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29We were struggling for height in the first team line-up
0:04:29 > 0:04:32and Glan Richards, who was the second team captain,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35said, "I've got a guy who'll win you some line-out balls".
0:04:35 > 0:04:38He said, "He's big, he's tall, he's not very good," he said,
0:04:38 > 0:04:41"but he will win you a line-out ball."
0:04:41 > 0:04:45We were so desperate we said, "Give him a game in the first team".
0:04:45 > 0:04:49He got into a fitness regime that at first, I remember,
0:04:49 > 0:04:50he was not really ready for.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53I can remember a couple of times where he had to stop
0:04:53 > 0:04:57and have a quiet little chuck.
0:04:59 > 0:05:04And, he was certainly not very skilful at modern rugby,
0:05:04 > 0:05:06partly because he hadn't played that much.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08- COMMENTATOR:- for London Welsh, eight is big Mervyn Davies
0:05:08 > 0:05:10wearing the headband.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13There was nothing exciting about him. He could tackle,
0:05:13 > 0:05:15he'd fall on the ball
0:05:15 > 0:05:19and he'd do all the necessary things you would expect of a forward.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23This is James on the move for the Llanelli, taken by Mervyn Davies.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25He really had to learn the game
0:05:25 > 0:05:29and there was no better teacher than John Dawes.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32At London Welsh, Dawes was developing a new style of rugby
0:05:32 > 0:05:35that was expansive and free-flowing.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38That's Dawes, deciding to go on his own.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42John Dawes was my mentor and still is to this day, probably.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45It was the first time in my life, if you like, that I met somebody,
0:05:45 > 0:05:47not only I respected as a rugby player, but as a person.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49There wasn't that much difference in our age,
0:05:49 > 0:05:52but he was a bit of a father figure to me, in many ways.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55After just six games for London Welsh, Mervyn was given
0:05:55 > 0:05:58the opportunity to try out for Wales.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01A week after the trial, he'd still heard nothing.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Welsh teams were announced on a Thursday,
0:06:04 > 0:06:06the week prior to the international.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09We hadn't had a telegram, we haven't had a telephone, or anything.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11So we're in the car, going to school.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13As we arrived in Mytchett,
0:06:13 > 0:06:18"Let's buy a paper and see if the Welsh team is in it".
0:06:18 > 0:06:21So I was driving as he jumped out and came back with all the papers,
0:06:21 > 0:06:23the Daily Mirror, an English Daily Mirror.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26I can remember running across the road, oblivious to any cars,
0:06:26 > 0:06:28shouting to him, "You're in! You're in!"
0:06:28 > 0:06:31He said, "In what?" I said, "You're in the team."
0:06:31 > 0:06:33Then in the bottom corner of the back page,
0:06:33 > 0:06:35in about a quarter of an inch space was the Welsh team.
0:06:35 > 0:06:36The last name was mine.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39He took the paper and read it about 24 times
0:06:39 > 0:06:42and mysteriously the car seemed to turn around
0:06:42 > 0:06:45and go back to Guildford because we didn't go to school that day.
0:06:45 > 0:06:50Mervyn made his international debut at Murrayfield on 1 February 1969.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55- COMMENTATOR:- Just the two new caps, John Williams the full-back
0:06:55 > 0:06:57and the number eight, Mervyn Davies.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00I remember him as a gangly number eight coming from London Welsh
0:07:00 > 0:07:03and wondering what sort of player he'd ever make.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06There was more meat on a skewer and I just wondered how effective
0:07:06 > 0:07:07he be in the scrum.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10Wales were in need of some help up front.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12They hadn't tasted success for some time.
0:07:12 > 0:07:17In 1967, we were looking at the first ever Welsh team
0:07:17 > 0:07:20to be whitewashed in the Championship.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24Then the following season we didn't really get very good results.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29Then suddenly, 1969, Mervyn in at number eight, JPR in at 15,
0:07:29 > 0:07:32they were the missing ingredient.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34- COMMENTATOR:- A good try.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37It's the new number eight forward, Davies.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41On the day, Merv helped Wales beat Scotland, 17-3.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44As the new Welsh team notched up one success after another that
0:07:44 > 0:07:48season, their new number eight caught the attention of the Press.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53Mervyn Davies, the number eight, inexperienced
0:07:53 > 0:07:55but has done a lot of very useful work.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57His rise is meteoric.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01That prompted the Evening Standard to say, there's a story here.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05So the story came out, "Look it's Merv the Swerve".
0:08:05 > 0:08:09He did say that he'd never actually swerved in his life but it rhymes.
0:08:09 > 0:08:14We all as rugby players do, took the Mick out of him, you know.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17What is this all about? And, it stuck.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21Swerve rose to the challenge of playing for his country.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24Number eight for Wales, big Mervyn Davies, who has been
0:08:24 > 0:08:26one of the big successes this season, come into the side...
0:08:26 > 0:08:29With Merv's help, Wales ended the 1969 season
0:08:29 > 0:08:31as holders of the Triple Crown.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35He learned his rugby at international level.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39In that group, we're talking about top class international players
0:08:39 > 0:08:43and all of a sudden he's amongst that.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47He began reading the game better, knowing what was expected of him
0:08:47 > 0:08:52and as a result of that he developed into an outstanding number eight.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55Mervyn's first try for Wales
0:08:55 > 0:08:58came during his second international season at Twickenham
0:08:58 > 0:09:01when he realised every Welshman's dream.
0:09:01 > 0:09:02- COMMENTATOR:- It's a try!
0:09:02 > 0:09:04It's Mervyn Davies who scores.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08He was by now part of a close-knit core of London Welsh players,
0:09:08 > 0:09:11at the heart of the national team.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13Sunday morning at six o'clock in the morning,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16we'd be jumping into a car and going down to Wales.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18It was usually John Dawes's Mini.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21Sometimes we had people like Merv, Geoff Evans,
0:09:21 > 0:09:23Mike Roberts, JPR or JT,
0:09:23 > 0:09:27not all of them, but at least four, maybe even five, in a Mini.
0:09:27 > 0:09:32Merv became part of the group and four of us rented a house.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35We became almost blood brothers.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37- COMMENTATOR:- This is Barry John.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40In 1971, Mervyn and John Taylor helped Wales
0:09:40 > 0:09:42end 19 years in the wilderness...
0:09:42 > 0:09:44A great try for Evans.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48..with their first Grand Slam since 1952.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51John Williams, Gerald Davies and Ian Smith get him.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54It's Gerald Davies for Wales.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58That summer, 13 Welsh plays were chosen to join the cream
0:09:58 > 0:10:02of British rugby on the Lions 1971 tour of New Zealand.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06Among them were John Taylor and Merv.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11For both men, Wales's own tour of New Zealand, two years earlier,
0:10:11 > 0:10:15had provided an object lesson in the brutal physicality
0:10:15 > 0:10:17of the All Blacks.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21Wales really under pressure now.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24We'd been stuffed two years earlier as Wales
0:10:24 > 0:10:29and we knew that we were up against it.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31When we were back in 1971, it was revenge time.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35Vengeance would not come easy.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38The Lions had never won a test series in New Zealand.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41Mervyn was ready for the challenge.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43By this time he was a much stronger animal
0:10:43 > 0:10:47than had been two years earlier. He could mix it and match it.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51I mean, he had a mean streak in him, when he needed it.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54That's what gained you respect down in New Zealand.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00Yes there was kicking, there was gouging, there was fighting
0:11:00 > 0:11:01but again I expected it.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05As long as all the forwards stuck together. OK, we'll take it.
0:11:06 > 0:11:11He was very, very good at being able to keep all that under control.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14Deal with it, take the physical punishment and a bit out
0:11:14 > 0:11:19but still focus on the main aim which was getting the ball.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21He was in his element on the New Zealand rugby tour.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27That's what I needed, I enjoyed that challenge side of it,
0:11:27 > 0:11:29especially in the physical sense of sport.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33I needed that challenge and I got it there, there's no doubt about it.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37- COMMENTATOR:- On the 25, good tackle by Mervyn Davies, a cruncher.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40One of those squaring up to Merv on the field was the driving force
0:11:40 > 0:11:43of the All Blacks pack, Captain Colin Meads.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46Here he is once again, the man himself, ten yards short of glory.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49CHEERING
0:11:49 > 0:11:51He was always there, you know.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53He had great big long arms, grappling for the ball.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55He seemed to always have his hands on the ball.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58He was just a darn nuisance to play against,
0:11:58 > 0:12:00which is the sign of a good forward.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04The Lions had taken the first test, 9-3.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08New Zealand hit back a fortnight later winning, 22-12.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11What a brilliant score!
0:12:11 > 0:12:15When the teams met for a third time in Wellington,
0:12:15 > 0:12:16it was all to play for.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20Davies is there! Gerald Davies has scored a try.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22Taylor, deflection.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Edwards...
0:12:24 > 0:12:27Can he get there to Barry John?
0:12:27 > 0:12:29Barry John has scored. What a try!
0:12:29 > 0:12:31The Lions have done it.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34That's one of the great feats in rugby history,
0:12:34 > 0:12:37as far as British Lions are concerned.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39The Lions drew the final game,
0:12:39 > 0:12:43winning a series in New Zealand for the first time in their history.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46To go and beat New Zealand on their own park, and do something nobody
0:12:46 > 0:12:49else had ever done before, was tremendous
0:12:49 > 0:12:52It was... I grew up, if you like.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55The Lions touched down at Heathrow
0:12:55 > 0:12:59to be greeted by thousands of jubilant fans.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03Soon after his return to Britain, Mervyn paid a visit to the Rhondda
0:13:03 > 0:13:04to call in on an old friend.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08That's really when our relationship took off.
0:13:08 > 0:13:13The players went to Downing Street, met the Prime Minister of the time,
0:13:13 > 0:13:15trips to Buckingham Palace and so on.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18It was awesome for me to be part of that.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20Now that he had a sweetheart in Wales,
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Mervyn's days at London Welsh were numbered.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27He suddenly started disappearing to Wales more often
0:13:27 > 0:13:29than had been the case.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32We knew he was seeing Shirley and he suddenly announced,
0:13:32 > 0:13:35"You're not going to like this Buzz, I'm going back to Wales."
0:13:37 > 0:13:40Mervyn left the club that had turned him into a world-class player,
0:13:40 > 0:13:43in order to return home to the one his father had once played for...
0:13:43 > 0:13:45..Swansea.
0:13:45 > 0:13:50People were in awe of him, he was a god as far as rugby was concerned.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53He took the pressure off the rest of us because people were afraid of
0:13:53 > 0:13:57what he was going to do and the rest of us could get on with the game.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00In 1973 Mervyn and Shirley got married
0:14:00 > 0:14:02and moved into a house of their own.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05Soon afterwards Mervyn was once again selected
0:14:05 > 0:14:07to represent the Lions.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09We been married about a year
0:14:09 > 0:14:13when he went to South Africa for three months.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16The Lions decision to tour South Africa during the era of apartheid
0:14:16 > 0:14:21was hotly opposed by both protesters and the British Government.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24For Mervyn, politics took second place to the sporting challenge.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26It was 78 years since the Lions
0:14:26 > 0:14:30had last won a test series in South Africa.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33He had a lot to prove
0:14:33 > 0:14:36because his mother felt that his rugby career would dip
0:14:36 > 0:14:38now that he was married.
0:14:38 > 0:14:43And, I think, he had become possibly a little complacent.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46He also had the competition with Andy Ripley.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49Andy Ripley was more athletic than Merv.
0:14:49 > 0:14:54He had had a good season for England and was the favourite.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59In the early provincial games, Mervyn pulled out all the stops
0:14:59 > 0:15:02to make his bid for a place in the first test.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04Mervyn again.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06Davies must be able to score for the Lions.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08Oh, a magnificent try by Mervyn Davies.
0:15:08 > 0:15:13I got the nod and I was dead chuffed that I got into the test side.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16Bennett to Mervyn Davies...
0:15:16 > 0:15:20Mervyn stayed in the test team for the whole of the tour
0:15:20 > 0:15:22as the Lions steamrollered across South Africa.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25Williams a yard to go and he scores!
0:15:25 > 0:15:27They played hard both on the field and off it.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29There it is.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36The Springboks fought back but they were outclassed.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38These are unpleasant scenes.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40Really, this is a giant free-for-all.
0:15:40 > 0:15:45The Lions won three tests and drew a fourth to take the series.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47It's JJ Williams again.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49He's going to score into the post.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54- REPORTER:- The British Lions rugby tourists return to a big welcome
0:15:54 > 0:15:56after their triumphant tour of South Africa.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59Mervyn was once again part of a victorious team,
0:15:59 > 0:16:03greeted as conquering heroes on their return home.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06Nine months after that homecoming, Merv became a father
0:16:06 > 0:16:09with the birth of his son, Christopher.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12This was a time of great change for him in many ways.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15John Dawes was by now coaching the Welsh team.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19Gareth Edwards had been captain, but not for much longer.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22Gareth, undoubtedly, was a world-class player
0:16:22 > 0:16:24but he got himself involved in the game
0:16:24 > 0:16:28and we needed someone who could stand a little bit apart
0:16:28 > 0:16:31from the game and see what other people could contribute.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33If the captaincy was going to come off Gareth,
0:16:33 > 0:16:36it had to go to someone special.
0:16:36 > 0:16:41Someone the players would respect and react to, and that was Mervyn.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44There's no greater honour for a Welsh sportsmen than to play
0:16:44 > 0:16:47rugby for Wales but add that to the captaincy of Wales,
0:16:47 > 0:16:51that's got to be the ultimate accolade.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55Despite Mervyn's achievements as a player,
0:16:55 > 0:16:58this would be the first time he'd captained the team
0:16:58 > 0:17:00since his days in college.
0:17:00 > 0:17:01A good palm to Edwards, Bevan...
0:17:01 > 0:17:06In the 1975 season, Mervyn led a revitalised Welsh team,
0:17:06 > 0:17:08featuring six new caps.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12Gerald Davies is there, this could be a score for Davies. He's got it!
0:17:12 > 0:17:17Only a 12-10 defeat by Scotland denied Wales their Grand Slam.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19With the five Nations title under their belts,
0:17:19 > 0:17:22this was a team that was going places.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25We felt that under the surface, all season,
0:17:25 > 0:17:29that something was bubbling, something was happening.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31Mervyn Davies, to Edwards, to Bennett...
0:17:31 > 0:17:34The 1976 season kicked off with a bang at Twickenham.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36Here's John Williams now.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39Can John Williams score his third try? Yes, he can!
0:17:39 > 0:17:42The unique individual talents of Wales's '76 team,
0:17:42 > 0:17:46gelled under Mervyn's captaincy.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48He wasn't a talking captain.
0:17:48 > 0:17:54He wasn't a tactician. What he was is the epitome, he led by example.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00Tremendous tackle there by Mervyn Davies.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03When he was captain, he was massively popular.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07His team talks were all inspirational, really
0:18:07 > 0:18:12and we knew if we followed Mervyn, he set the standard, we'd win.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14Mervyn Davies, the captain, palms to Edwards.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17Bennett getting a lovely service now.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20Gravell bouncing off that tackle, it could be another try for Wales.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23Bennett going himself.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25Oh, brilliant dummy!
0:18:25 > 0:18:27That season, Wales notched up one win after another
0:18:27 > 0:18:31right up to their final game at the Arms Park.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34The last game was probably the proudest moments of my life
0:18:34 > 0:18:37in a Welsh shirt out on the national field there.
0:18:37 > 0:18:38We were playing France.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41It was us or them for the Championship.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44Huge pass all the way along to Gravell.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47Gerald Davies defending.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51He's over the 22 metres line,
0:18:51 > 0:18:53it's a try for France.
0:18:53 > 0:18:58The first 15 minutes of that game, I thought they were going to run riot.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02Merv was so tenacious at clawing us back into that game.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07Early in the game, Mervyn was flattened by the French pack.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09A stud punctured his calf muscle.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12The team physio ordered Merv off the field
0:19:12 > 0:19:14but he was in no mood to listen.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18With his leg swelling painfully, he soldiered on.
0:19:18 > 0:19:19This is Phil Bennett.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22There's a chance here for Kenwyn.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24JJ Williams must score.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26CHEERING
0:19:26 > 0:19:33Mervyn Davies, as captain of Wales, as they've won the Grand Slam.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36To be carried off Arms Park by your players is something to remember.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39You know, winning the Grand Slam,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42as captain, you can't get better.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47This was the crowning achievement of Mervyn's career to date.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51But with a return trip to New Zealand by the Lions on the horizon,
0:19:51 > 0:19:53there was the promise of even greater glory.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57John Dawes asked me, probably 12 months before the tour,
0:19:57 > 0:19:59would I like to go to New Zealand again?
0:19:59 > 0:20:00I said, "No, it's too hard.
0:20:00 > 0:20:05"I'd been out there twice, it's physically and mentally draining."
0:20:05 > 0:20:09"Why don't you go as captain?" "I'll think about that."
0:20:09 > 0:20:13Just three weeks after he'd led Wales to victory in Cardiff,
0:20:13 > 0:20:16Mervyn was back, captaining Swansea in the semi-final
0:20:16 > 0:20:20of the 1976 WRU Challenge Cup.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24It was a game that I was taking in my stride.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26It wouldn't have caused me any great nervousness
0:20:26 > 0:20:29but it seemed that I was on edge and something was obviously wrong.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32People put it down to nerves.
0:20:32 > 0:20:37Good ball for the Whites. Mervyn Davies not able to pick up.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39It was my first Mother's Day, 1976
0:20:39 > 0:20:44and I travelled up to the Arms Park with the other wives
0:20:44 > 0:20:49and girlfriends and we sat in the stand.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52There was a line-out and the ball went to the back of the line-out.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56A good throw by Majors and Mervyn Davies one very good ball.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00We want the ball for a change and I remember we all went past
0:21:00 > 0:21:04and then all of a sudden we noticed Swerve had collapsed on the floor.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11Mervyn was down but play continued with most of the players
0:21:11 > 0:21:14and crowd unaware of what had happened to him.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17Trevor Evans trying to get away. Woodward, out to Blyth.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19Here comes another try.
0:21:20 > 0:21:25The injury is to Mervyn Davies who served the ball from the ruck.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30We all thought that he'd either been punched
0:21:30 > 0:21:33or he'd had an awkward fall but he was absolutely out.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39It was evident within seconds that it was a very, very serious.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44There was absolutely no movement at all from him.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46No response whatsoever.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48Mervyn had stopped breathing.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52He was given mouth-to-mouth on the pitch before being stretchered off.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56Under the stand he had to be resuscitated a second time.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58It was just a whirlwind.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01I rushed around to the dressing room where they were attending to him
0:22:01 > 0:22:07but I was kept away from him until he was put into the ambulance.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09Mervyn was rushed to Cardiff's Royal infirmary
0:22:09 > 0:22:12and then to the University Hospital of Wales.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16They confirmed that he had actually suffered a brain haemorrhage
0:22:16 > 0:22:19and that if he had collapsed anywhere else,
0:22:19 > 0:22:22he probably would have died.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24He's had a subarachnoid haemorrhage
0:22:24 > 0:22:27and this is an unpleasant and dangerous condition.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31- REPORTER:- How dangerous, is his life in danger?
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Yes, I think, it's fair to say it is.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38Mervyn lay unconscious for over a week as his body recovered
0:22:38 > 0:22:44the strength to survive the highly dangerous brain surgery he required.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47To say it was traumatic is rather an understatement
0:22:47 > 0:22:50because he was so young. He was 29.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52We had an 11-month-old son.
0:22:52 > 0:22:58It was almost hourly phone calls. "What's the situation?"
0:22:58 > 0:23:02"Well, he's still critical but he's breathing by himself now."
0:23:02 > 0:23:05We really didn't think he was going to make it.
0:23:05 > 0:23:094,000 good luck messages poured into the hospital from well-wishers
0:23:09 > 0:23:13across the globe. Finally, nine days after his collapse,
0:23:13 > 0:23:18Mervyn underwent an operation that involved nine medical staff
0:23:18 > 0:23:20and lasted three hours.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24When I came to, it was all over, really.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27I was alive and the expectations were I would remain alive.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30- REPORTER:- You're looking pretty well,
0:23:30 > 0:23:32what sort of treatment have you had at the University Hospital?
0:23:32 > 0:23:36Well, I think, I don't remember the first few weeks
0:23:36 > 0:23:40but obviously the operation itself was very successful.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44I think, my progress since then has been quite good.
0:23:44 > 0:23:49After a month in hospital, Mervyn was finally allowed home.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53He was a fighter. He was determined to drive as quickly as he could.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56We lived in a close and he had his brother sit with him, driving
0:23:56 > 0:24:02round and round there until he felt he could muster driving again.
0:24:02 > 0:24:07He made a very rapid recovery, as far as he could.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11He was obviously never quite the same again, physically.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14He limped a bit, he had this weakness down the left side.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16The thing that went with that weakness,
0:24:16 > 0:24:18his eyesight was terribly badly affected.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21Steps were a hurdle, I'd often fall over.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24Little things you could do before, like jump over two-foot high fence.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26The co-ordination had gone.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30We adjusted to it. Mervyn wasn't one to look for pity.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32And, I didn't give it.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35He got involved with all the usual things and family life
0:24:35 > 0:24:37and we just got on with it.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41But ahead of Mervyn lay a long psychological struggle
0:24:41 > 0:24:45to come to terms with the legacy of his brain injury.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48From competing, shall we say, against New Zealand one minute
0:24:48 > 0:24:51to not being able to beat my one-year-old son at Tiddlywinks
0:24:51 > 0:24:53was a hard battle, if you like, to come to terms with.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57What do I do instead of rugby?
0:24:57 > 0:25:02I can't play tennis, I can't play squash. I can't play golf.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06Yes, sorry I can do them all! But be not very, very good at.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10And have no chance of winning. That hurts, I can't accept that.
0:25:10 > 0:25:11I need a chance to win.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Rugby gave me all that I wanted, that 80 minutes was mind-blowing.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17It must be like, think of people who take drugs,
0:25:17 > 0:25:20it's a mind-blowing experience and it didn't just last for 80 minutes,
0:25:20 > 0:25:22it lasted for a good few hours after that.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25A high, if you like. I had nothing to replace that.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30He felt robbed, that this had been ripped away from him
0:25:30 > 0:25:37and, I believe, that he made certain decisions,
0:25:37 > 0:25:40personally and professionally, that he would not have otherwise done,
0:25:40 > 0:25:44if it hadn't been for the brain haemorrhage.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46Life became a little bit problematic.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49How do fill in this void, if you like?
0:25:49 > 0:25:52The local pub got a bit of a hammering, sort of thing
0:25:52 > 0:25:53and that didn't work, really.
0:25:53 > 0:25:58I think what happened, the drinking became an excuse.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02It was the one party we could still share his company with.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05We could go out and have a pint with him, or what have you.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07He would enjoy that.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10A lot of people, I think, in Swansea,
0:26:10 > 0:26:14tried to do what they thought was the best for him
0:26:14 > 0:26:17and offered him partnerships, shares,
0:26:17 > 0:26:19directorship in a few companies
0:26:19 > 0:26:21but they were mainly bars and restaurants
0:26:21 > 0:26:24and what they really wanted him to do
0:26:24 > 0:26:28was go there and shake and greet and booze with the regulars.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32I don't think that was very good for him.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35There was a spell, certainly, where he was drinking too much.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39I feel quite ashamed of the fact that I could have
0:26:39 > 0:26:42found solace in the bottom of a glass of beer, if you like.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44You have to pull yourself together and say,
0:26:44 > 0:26:47"Right, there's more to life than sitting wallowing
0:26:47 > 0:26:49"in your own self pity".
0:26:49 > 0:26:53Mervyn's marriage to Shirley became one of the casualties of this
0:26:53 > 0:26:55turbulent period in his life.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57The couple later divorced.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01In the years following his injury,
0:27:01 > 0:27:03Mervyn tried to find a new role for himself.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07He coached a local club for a few years, but that didn't work out.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11He was still without direction when he crossed paths with Jeni,
0:27:11 > 0:27:14an old friend from his days at Swansea College.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17He went through a very hard time of finding himself again.
0:27:17 > 0:27:22He didn't have a purpose in life, I felt, any longer.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26And, his heart was still in rugby.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28Mervyn and Jeni later married.
0:27:28 > 0:27:29During their time together,
0:27:29 > 0:27:32Merv would often recall the glory days of his rugby career.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37Some stories that he said were very amusing and I said,
0:27:37 > 0:27:40"Well, you can always talk about this.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42"People would love to hear about it."
0:27:42 > 0:27:45And, he started after-dinner speaking.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47At first, he was very, very nervous
0:27:47 > 0:27:52but over a period of years he became really, really excellent, I thought.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54It certainly gave him a sense of direction
0:27:54 > 0:27:57and he got some of his self-esteem back.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59I was really proud of him.
0:27:59 > 0:28:04In 2001, Merv's former team-mate chose him as the first chairman
0:28:04 > 0:28:07of Welsh rugby's ex-players association.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10A year later, rugby fans voted Mervyn
0:28:10 > 0:28:13the greatest Welsh captain of all time.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19In 2011, Mervyn was diagnosed with lung cancer.
0:28:19 > 0:28:24He died in March 2012, aged just 65.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27I remember him every minute of the day.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31He was liked by everybody and respected by everybody.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35If I had to choose an international team, throughout the ages,
0:28:35 > 0:28:38I think his name would go down first as a number eight.
0:28:40 > 0:28:45The respect that he has worldwide is just immense.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48Rugby wise, the best number eight Wales has ever had.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53The best of the very best, as a player and as a man,
0:28:53 > 0:28:55you can't ask for more than that.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd