:01:30. > :01:35.A fortnight before the England game, the Wales team held a public
:01:35. > :01:41.training session. I was allowed in.
:01:41. > :01:45.To get involved a bit. But at 39 years old, with the
:01:45. > :01:51.hardness of a concert pianist, it was a bit risky.
:01:51. > :02:01.The best thing to do, I thought was to keep a low professional and
:02:01. > :02:01.
:02:01. > :03:20.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 79 seconds
:03:21. > :03:30.under no circumstances human iate Could I impress Warren Gatland? No?
:03:30. > :03:34.I'm on it. Finally, I got one right.
:03:34. > :03:38.That's it. Thank you very much. There is a similarity with yourself
:03:38. > :03:48.and Ryan Jones. And buoyed by still being alive, I
:03:48. > :03:50.
:03:50. > :03:57.lined up a bit of kicking with Neil Jenkins.
:03:57. > :04:05.I was hoping to get that signed! Oh, there is another Welsh legend.
:04:05. > :04:15.Robert Howie, how about a quick workshop? Do you know where your
:04:15. > :04:16.
:04:16. > :04:22.hands are going? No. No idea. Towards the target! Boom! Nailed
:04:22. > :04:29.one! Exhausted this is! Now in the last game against Scotland, I had
:04:29. > :04:32.been a reporter for the Western Mayo. What it did not show was this,
:04:32. > :04:38.I asked Shaun Edwards a totally innocent question.
:04:38. > :04:42.It feels like there is a chance you could do a job in England in
:04:42. > :04:50.Twickenham. Do you ever talk about how much you like to beat sides by?
:04:50. > :04:57.A difficult question! Which led to all of the coaches walking out!
:04:57. > :05:02.this was my chance to say sorry to Shaun Edwards, who up close is as
:05:02. > :05:06.intimidating as you can imagine. I would like to apologise, I was
:05:06. > :05:10.the person who asked a stupid question at the end of the press
:05:10. > :05:15.conference. I I'm glad you said that, not me.
:05:15. > :05:18.Maybe my actions said that. It was the most ridiculous
:05:18. > :05:24.question! I thought you were an Englishman. I thought this is a
:05:24. > :05:30.loaded question. I can see it, Edwards saying we can win by 15,
:05:30. > :05:33.Gatland saying we can win by 12. I can see it in the England dressing
:05:33. > :05:39.room wall! Lancaster not even having to do a team talk! I'm glad
:05:39. > :05:42.to know you are Welsh. There is no conspiracy theory. That is
:05:42. > :05:47.forgivable. So I'm forgiven? Yes.
:05:47. > :05:51.Thank you very much. I've been losing slip over it, it was
:05:51. > :05:54.bothering me so much. I was losing sleep you were a spy!
:05:54. > :05:58.Thank you very much. Good luck with the rest of it.
:05:58. > :06:02.Next, Leigh Halfpenny, for me, one of the stars of the tournament. He
:06:02. > :06:07.to ask him about the last kick of the game match when they were
:06:07. > :06:11.against Ireland. COMMENTATOR: Well, terrible to
:06:11. > :06:21.start with. How nervous were you feeling?
:06:21. > :06:22.
:06:22. > :06:26.Pretty nervous to have all of the nations there! But its what a dream
:06:26. > :06:30.come true. We put France to bed then. Really glad to be taking the
:06:30. > :06:33.kick. Right, then, now you are going to
:06:33. > :06:42.embarrass me. I want to sense what it is like to catch the ball from
:06:42. > :06:48.the sort of kicks that you put up. Right, stay loose, keep your eye on
:06:48. > :06:56.the ball, you'll be fine! Oh, God! You plum. I tried to do your jumpy
:06:56. > :07:00.thing! Never mind that, come on. Easy! Easy! Caught it, although no
:07:00. > :07:08.points for style. Right then, Leigh Halfpenny, let's see what you can
:07:08. > :07:15.do with my special! Oh! Well, it his job after all. I better relish
:07:15. > :07:18.this moment. It doesn't get much better than that. Sharing the pitch
:07:18. > :07:25.with Leigh Halfpenny on the millennium pitch, that is
:07:25. > :07:30.unbelievable. With my boyhood dream achieved, the team went off to do
:07:30. > :07:34.proper training. Right, England versus Wales at HQ, was going to be
:07:34. > :07:38.huge. I really wanted to concentrate on watching the game.
:07:38. > :07:48.On the other hand, I did need a cheap gimmick to justify BBC Wales
:07:48. > :07:54.sending me there. Performing Hang Up by Madonna it
:07:54. > :08:00.is... He's got a Welsh wife, but he had to earn his honourary Welsh
:08:00. > :08:05.status. So, if he could name me three Welsh players, he got to wear
:08:05. > :08:10.the daffodil. The guy by the end there,
:08:10. > :08:17.Warburton? Yes. Gethin Jenkins? Right, you are in!
:08:17. > :08:22.The first half was tense and tight. It definitely wasn't going to be a
:08:22. > :08:32.rout. Oh! Wales had only won here twice
:08:32. > :08:33.
:08:33. > :08:37.in 25 years, to make matters worse, Gerrard's mic was playing up.
:08:37. > :08:43.As the first half ended, England had played well and definitely had
:08:43. > :08:49.the bragging whites on us! Warren Gatland was going to have to earn
:08:49. > :08:53.his money with a halftime team talk. You have the accent, Gerrard, go
:08:53. > :08:57.for it. He will be saying, "Two times in 25
:08:57. > :09:07.years, are you happy with that? It's their house, so let's break
:09:07. > :09:14.down the doors and smash the windows." And what followed was
:09:14. > :09:19.worthy of a movie. We had had one of the tightest games ever against
:09:19. > :09:24.Ireland. Surely the script writers could not invent a new twist? The
:09:24. > :09:28.plot was flowing along nicely. We were well into the second act.
:09:28. > :09:35.Gerrard was getting into the movie star mode.
:09:35. > :09:41.Your mic is down there? Well, it is the people that put it there in the
:09:41. > :09:51.first place! We had a villain, who later on would turn no a hero, and
:09:51. > :10:12.
:10:12. > :10:16.the tension was building ready for Yeah! Yeah! It was all set for the
:10:16. > :10:21.Hollywood happy ending. But just when you thought it was
:10:21. > :10:26.safe to go back to the bar... are holding out. You have to hold
:10:26. > :10:36.them out. The twist that no-one saw coming.
:10:36. > :10:46.
:10:47. > :10:52.No! No! No! Video! Denied! No try, please! Time stood still.
:10:52. > :10:57.Just how long could they string this out? And then it dawned on us,
:10:57. > :11:03.that this was the moment. Wales' Grand Slam dream could stand or
:11:03. > :11:10.fall on this one decision. I couldn't decide myself which way
:11:10. > :11:16.it should go. Robert Howie could not decide whether to sit down...
:11:16. > :11:25.Or stand up... Or stand up. Every Welsh fan was as tense as I was,
:11:26. > :11:35.and every honourary one too. Please, please...
:11:36. > :11:57.
:11:57. > :12:03.COMMENTATOR: A try! Yeah! Yeah! Whoa! With England beaten it was
:12:03. > :12:09.time to take stock of what we had learned so far. We had learned:
:12:09. > :12:16.CCTV is intrusive. It is hotter in LA than in Wales. English nations
:12:16. > :12:23.that play for regions and then play against Wales, get nervous. For
:12:23. > :12:28.some reason, Scotland had employed the vicar of Dimbley. By the main
:12:28. > :12:32.thing that we have learned is that Wales are good. Really good. Like
:12:32. > :12:37.Adam Jones taking down a winger in full flight. This team could be on
:12:37. > :12:42.the brink of something special. All thoughts turn to a Grand Slam
:12:42. > :12:47.decider. Only Italy stand in the way so. Where better to watch a
:12:47. > :12:56.hatful of tries, than a stuffy outside broadcast in a truck car
:12:56. > :13:01.park? I had stepped into the Welsh rugby fan's star ship enterprise
:13:01. > :13:05.and heading towards TV overload. Through to look at me, you would
:13:05. > :13:10.not know. For someone who gets confused by the technology of his
:13:10. > :13:18.fridge, this was mind boggling. In the truck it was tense.
:13:18. > :13:21.I cannot make a mistake here. That's Wales about to score a try...
:13:21. > :13:25.COMMENTATOR: We have important matters to attend to.
:13:25. > :13:30.I would rather he score than I get chucked out. This is Matt grift
:13:30. > :13:35.itselfs, the director that calls the shots.
:13:35. > :13:41.-- Griffiths. Everything flows through him. Live feeds, replays,
:13:41. > :13:45.everything! In here it is a wierd world of beauty shots, gold shots,
:13:45. > :13:51.dirty shots. To increase the pressure, all of them packaged up
:13:51. > :13:55.and going out to the whole world. Matt was playing with a great shot
:13:55. > :13:58.of choice and technological shots, but for me... I can't work it out.
:13:58. > :14:03.I think that the screens in the middle and the transmission feed, I
:14:03. > :14:13.have sussed that out, apart from that, I don't know what's going on!
:14:13. > :14:13.
:14:13. > :14:17.The game, that I could just about follow, amidst the cocaphony, was a
:14:17. > :14:26.start-stop affair. Then it was half-time. Though the big news in
:14:26. > :14:31.the truck was that the camera had gone down for the halt review.
:14:31. > :14:40.-- half-time review. Then there is a second half, as it
:14:41. > :14:50.began, the crew of the Enterprise began to speak a strange language...
:14:51. > :14:51.
:14:51. > :14:59.Up on silver, Rhys. But all I understood was this...
:14:59. > :15:05.COMMENTATOR: It is to the line! nen the re-play area, all hell
:15:05. > :15:13.broke loose. It is nebl next! Take it back! Take
:15:13. > :15:19.it back! -- it is yellow next. Run it on blue.
:15:19. > :15:27.I remained result-focused. Here we go, Wales by 28.
:15:27. > :15:37.No doubt about it! And then it was time for Welsh rugby legend
:15:37. > :15:38.
:15:38. > :15:42.answered commentator, John Davis to choose his Man of the Match.
:15:42. > :15:51.What a day for Justin Tipuric on his first full start, but then this
:15:51. > :16:01.happened... And Jiffy was waivering...
:16:01. > :16:01.
:16:01. > :16:07.COMMENTATOR: He fancies his chances?
:16:08. > :16:15.COMMENTATOR: My man of the match is Alex Cuthbert.
:16:15. > :16:20.It is Alex Cuthbert, the Man of the Match and great for the Welsh. Job
:16:20. > :16:26.done indeed. Tony, have you done the final montage? Not yet, I'm
:16:26. > :16:34.still doing it. Can we have a Queen track? Yeah,
:16:34. > :16:38.which one would you like? Can we have Hammer the Fall? Yeah.
:16:38. > :16:46.Well, if you can't abuse your position when high on a Welsh win,
:16:46. > :16:51.then when can you do it? At last, we were allowed to be Grand Slam
:16:51. > :16:55.focused. To get in the mood, I thought back to Wales' last Grand
:16:55. > :17:02.Slam decider at the Millennium Stadium, it was also against France
:17:02. > :17:12.in 2008. It turned out to be a really special day. Ian Goff won
:17:12. > :17:13.
:17:13. > :17:23.his 50th cap. Ray led his daughter out tonne the pitch it was amazing.
:17:23. > :17:26.
:17:26. > :17:36.A coup -- a couple of WAG s. The own thing that distracted from the
:17:36. > :17:37.
:17:37. > :17:43.play going on was Martyn Williams was having a blander and Vincent
:17:43. > :17:48.Clegg did a good impression of Phantom of the Opera.
:17:48. > :17:55.Gavin Henson was sin-binned and then France chipped their way back
:17:55. > :18:00.into it. It was basically somed up beautifuly... Yet, all of a sudden
:18:00. > :18:04.here they are, three points in front and down to 14 players. It is
:18:04. > :18:12.the start of the second half. I remember thinking to myself, this
:18:12. > :18:16.is going to abbest torture. For the first ten minute it is was. Frns
:18:16. > :18:20.went 9-9. Then Gethin Jenkins went off injured and France started to
:18:20. > :18:23.get control. Then, thank goodness, this happened...
:18:23. > :18:28.COMMENTATOR: The hard work, the lard yard, like they did at the
:18:28. > :18:36.lard yard, like they did at the beginning. That is what is required.
:18:36. > :18:42.Rock on... To Williams it is a race, Shane Williams... He has it. A
:18:42. > :18:46.brake away tie! It didn't get much better, even though they exchanged
:18:46. > :18:52.penalties, we were ten points up, we thought that would be OK, but
:18:52. > :18:55.not in a Grand Slam game, but then, one of the greatest moments I have
:18:55. > :19:04.ever seen on a rugby pitch happened... You don't expect
:19:04. > :19:07.anything to happen here. Clear the lines, maybe, kick the touch? No...
:19:07. > :19:12.Mark Jones, literally running the length of the pitch it would have
:19:12. > :19:16.been the greatest try of all time in a Grand Slam decider. He
:19:16. > :19:21.finished a yard short. But as it turned out it was the
:19:21. > :19:26.best try set-up of all time, it led, after a number of phases to this...
:19:26. > :19:33.COMMENTATOR: This is going to be won with something a little special.
:19:33. > :19:37.Maybe it will be Martyn Williams? His match-winning try that sealed
:19:37. > :19:41.the Game. That was it, we knew we had won. Our second Grand Slam in
:19:41. > :19:45.had won. Our second Grand Slam in three years.
:19:45. > :19:51.In 1987 there had been another Grand Slam decider against France.
:19:51. > :19:56.So it was off to West Wales to speak to one of the true rugby
:19:56. > :20:00.greats on what felt like to me, to be one of the best drying days in
:20:00. > :20:10.Wales. Although, apparently down here, this is called a breeze. I
:20:10. > :20:10.
:20:10. > :20:14.was going to meet Phil Been the. We did not play to our best -- Phil
:20:14. > :20:18.Bennett. Tell me about the preparation going
:20:18. > :20:21.into a Grand Slam gairm in your day? They would not believe it
:20:21. > :20:26.The training on the Sunday before on the beach. A light run out on
:20:26. > :20:32.the Thursday and then Friday it was hysterical, nobody on diets, they
:20:32. > :20:40.were all starving, the Angel Hotel is posh. We would sit down with a
:20:40. > :20:48.lovely meal. Chips, steak. Sweets, puddings. P put it all down and
:20:48. > :20:53.then we would walk to the cinema in Cardiff. Hundreds of fans. And we
:20:53. > :20:58.just walked down there, go into the cinema, watch some film it could
:20:58. > :21:03.have been a shambles of a film and then our physio, he used to be the
:21:03. > :21:07.team manager, he a certain amount of money to buy us an ice-cream
:21:07. > :21:14.each. We would ask for the ice- cream, but Bill would say that we
:21:14. > :21:21.could not have Flakes, as it was too expensive! No, you can't have a
:21:21. > :21:24.Flake, just have an ice-cream. Did you get sauce? No, no sauce! A
:21:24. > :21:29.plain ice-cream, you would not believe it. Back to the hotel a
:21:29. > :21:36.sandwich a cup of tea, to bed. There are lovely moments in that
:21:36. > :21:42.game. One, you chucked the ball like a Fijian and you talk about
:21:42. > :21:46.your relationship with you and Gareth Edwards, but there is a
:21:46. > :21:49.terrific pass, you give him a look as if to say don't go chucking that
:21:49. > :21:53.at me. Bill picks up in the commentary.
:21:53. > :21:58.COMMENTATOR: He is saying don't give me another one of those,
:21:58. > :22:03.please. I was said to be looking well, but
:22:03. > :22:08.I thought he a bad back, but it was funny in that game as well. They
:22:08. > :22:15.were a great team to play, the French. A great man there, there
:22:15. > :22:19.was a bit of a scrap in those days, no yellow cards. There was a bit of
:22:20. > :22:24.a scrap! COMMENTATOR: That little was nasty.
:22:24. > :22:30.The referee calls that their captain and puts myself and him
:22:30. > :22:36.together, he is 6ft 8. I say whatever he says he can have it.
:22:36. > :22:43.He is looking down at me, he is angry. I am told to tell the lads
:22:43. > :22:49.to cool down. I'm saying boys, get stuck into this lot! I was going to
:22:49. > :22:56.ask you what you said to them? told them to give them a pounding,
:22:56. > :23:03.but Bobby, Charlie, Pricey, they were great men, brave men for Wales.
:23:03. > :23:09.And remarkably, I scored two tries that afternoon and two from within
:23:09. > :23:12.about ten metres. First Allen Martin's scrub. I beat a couple of
:23:13. > :23:18.men and go over. About what was important, France had taken the
:23:18. > :23:24.lead in that game. If you look back at me, I never took a long time
:23:24. > :23:29.taking conversions for a penalty, but I thought I have to get this. I
:23:29. > :23:36.struck it and I went over, we were back in the game.
:23:36. > :23:41.COMMENTATOR: Gravelle running as always! We go right, out to
:23:41. > :23:44.Williams and then we have one in the corner, he is forced to the
:23:44. > :23:50.touchline, I pick it up, I get another try.
:23:50. > :23:57.Was that always the plan to retire after that game? Or did you go, "I
:23:57. > :24:02.think that went so well, I will call it a day "I don't that people
:24:02. > :24:08.realise the pressures. Iwaned to go to the top, but I can honestly say
:24:08. > :24:14.it was the hardest decision of my life. Did I not want to be Phil
:24:14. > :24:17.Bennett... I wanted us to win the Grand Slam for Wales and for the
:24:17. > :24:24.Crown. We got into the dressing room, I said Gareth, thank you very
:24:24. > :24:30.much, it's been a pleasure. He said, "What is happening" I said I was
:24:30. > :24:35.finishing. He said, "Bloody hell, so am I." In a way it was a
:24:35. > :24:38.fantastic feeling. Yet, you were saddened to think that you would
:24:39. > :24:42.never be on that park again. Now, I can't let you go, obviously,
:24:42. > :24:48.without talking through this with you. You know what is coming. It is
:24:48. > :24:55.the greatest try of all time. Talk us through the memories? I remember
:24:55. > :25:00.Brian Williams, a great kicker down the side of 22. Saying he will give
:25:00. > :25:10.it to me, I will put this in, but it was suicide.
:25:10. > :25:12.
:25:12. > :25:17.I passed it to JPR, there was a break.
:25:17. > :25:21.People say he was forward, but he was never forward, but what a dive.
:25:21. > :25:25.What got me about that, the crowd went per serbg. That set the game
:25:25. > :25:31.up. Look at the crowd. -- berserk.
:25:31. > :25:38.Look at the crowd. And you had a nice thing about that,
:25:38. > :25:44.the side step, a friend said to ask Phil if he side stepped as he can't
:25:44. > :25:52.kick from the left foot!? When he cease me doing this, he says qoing
:25:52. > :25:58.what the hell is he doing" -- he says, "What the hell is he doing"
:25:58. > :26:04.he has never forgiven me for that with the try. He said, "Philip,
:26:04. > :26:09.remember that game in' 73, I don't want that nonsense." It was
:26:09. > :26:13.incredible. Absolutely incredible. I wanted to show this, this is
:26:13. > :26:19.normally about there that the footage stops. Nobody ever watches
:26:19. > :26:23.the bit where we run it on. There is an unbelievable moment with
:26:23. > :26:31.Gareth Edwards strolling back, then it is you to take the conversion...
:26:31. > :26:37.Remember this moment? I think it was a shocker if I remember? I
:26:37. > :26:42.think I kicked it under the porch! Good memory! Well, that is from
:26:43. > :26:49.inside the 22. I was knackered. So no chance of me kicking that.
:26:49. > :26:52.You had sidestepped twice off that? That was overworked. There was no
:26:52. > :26:58.chance of me kicking that. Never ever.
:26:58. > :27:01.So, ahead of Saturday's game, whey wanted to know was what Phil
:27:01. > :27:08.Bennett thought of the current Welsh team, compared to the great
:27:08. > :27:12.Welsh teams of the 70s? Someone like Ryan Jones anded a jam Jones
:27:12. > :27:17.could win their third Grand Slam. Do you think that they should be
:27:17. > :27:21.talked about in the same breath as all of you guys? Yes, great players.
:27:21. > :27:26.Brian Jones has been a revelation. He's been fantastic. His work ethic.
:27:27. > :27:32.If he is plain playing on the start, wing forward, it doesn't matter, he
:27:32. > :27:36.is playing for Wales. Gethin Jenkins, these guys, they deserve.
:27:36. > :27:42.They win three Grand Slams they have achieved something special.
:27:42. > :27:48.They will go down, like the guys that won the Grand Slam then, they
:27:48. > :27:54.deserve to be held up special. These guys are winning thing force
:27:54. > :27:59.Wales, for the people, and I tell you what, when you go all over the
:27:59. > :28:05.world, you can be proud to say, "Hey, we won the Grand Slam." I
:28:05. > :28:12.hope that the boys get the full credit that they deserve.
:28:12. > :28:16.So, this is it... Who knows what Saturday will bring? I was never
:28:16. > :28:26.good enough to wear the Welsh shirt, but these boys are. All Wales will
:28:26. > :28:27.
:28:27. > :28:33.wish them well. We can only dream of what you alone
:28:34. > :28:40.can do. The golden team, the first 15, the