Episode 23 Scrum V

came down to the final night. The Scarlets and Ospreys fighting for

the semifinals. We will bring you the action from the final state at

the Millennium Stadium. We crossed the Channel to catch up with Chris

Wyatt, a month shy of his 40th birthday and still with plenty in

the tank. And Sam Warburton recalls the phone conversation that changed

his life. He hit me with it, do you want to be

the captain? It was the most surreal I have been asked, it was crazy.

Good evening, welcome. The season is over, we know who has made it

through to the semifinals of the Pro12. We will assess the action,

starting with the crucial game between the Scarlets and Treviso.

It was an emotional night as Matthew Rees, George North and Andy Fenby

paid a farewell. The home side needed to avoid defeat to make the

play-offs, against HIV so side who just the start they would have

thanks very much indeed, his eighth try of the season, and a first of

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form, they can rely on him. He has field for three minutes and he is in

referee once another word. It is a second yellow card, they are down to

13 men. The Scarlets must go for the scored a crucial try. You may award

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Scarlets' fate will depend on fourth try. Treviso have come to the

Parc y Scarlets, they have got a bonus point. That is a penalty. The

challenge also on the try scorer, the penalty. Who would have believed

it? Treviso have scored 40 points at lack of respect for the ball, for

territory, we were poor in every facet.

The Ospreys who hopes rested on that result. So a win in Dublin would

allow them to sneak through. They meant business. All of their fit

make your own luck, and rate footballing skills from Andrew

move we have seen the Ospreys poll so many times. A good run from Luke

penalty, he has gone back for. An interesting call for the Ospreys.

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is over. That is the opening score Ashley Beck. The pass forward judged

we have achieved this season, but we have to look around and make sure we

do not have this feeling again next season.

All studs secured a first-place finish and home advantage against

the Scarlets in the semifinals thanks to a mother bonus point

victory against the Lose. Just five minutes on the clock for the first

try. Allston were back level five minutes later. Some sloppy hands in

midfield. Blues led by three points at half-time, but after the break,

it was one-way traffic. Andrew Trimble's first of his two tries.

His second was given to him on a plate. A breakdown in

communication. A simple touchdown. The bonus point came with this late

try. Scarlets beware, Ulster are The other semi-final will see

Glasgow visiting Leinster. The Scottish side wrapped up their

regular season with a public victory. They dominated and got the

only try of the first half. With the play-off spot already in the bag,

Glasgow could leave many of the key players on the bench. It was the big

guns who came on to wrap up the victory. The outstanding the GMB

provider, Sean Maitland the scorer. They will need all of their stars in

Dublin next weekend. Scarlets since they moved to Parc y

Scarlets, it was called their worst performance of the season. What

happened? Only they can answer that, nobody saw that coming. They had

been in a rich game of form. They were outmuscled, outclassed, Treviso

just played some superb rugby, and the Scarlets were very poor.

moment, Treviso went down to 13 men, and you thought momentum would have

shifted to the Scarlets, but the opposite happened. You thought, they

would score a try and they are back for men. Surely, the scrum had been

shut wrong... There was a lack of concentration, it is a shambles.

Treviso, wait with it. They had two men in the sin bin, and it is a

penalty. Owen Williams is lucky that he did not get a yellow card. A

penalty, three points, and after that, they create an overlap, George

North has a rush of blood, and he scores. We think it is an average of

seven points when you are a man down for the full complement, and they

scored ten points against 15 players, with 13 men. I thought it

was a dreadful performance by them, and they have got to ignore it. They

have made the play-offs, which is fantastic, but now, forget about it,

start fresh with the big game. much credit should be give to

Treviso? I thought the back row were outstanding from the start. They

the Scarlets. Treviso took charge of the game really. This was early on,

they set their stall out, and this led to the first try. It was sloppy

from the Scarlets. He carries the tackler three or four yards and it

is great support as well. That was early on and I think everybody

expected Treviso to have one mind on the beach and their off-season but

they can secure a few key signings, it is a lovely lifestyle as well,

they can really improve a lot in the next couple of years. Rumours have

been circling that Richie McCaw could be going to Treviso. That

would not be a bad signing. Let's talk about the Ospreys because at

one point on Friday night, it looked as though the inconceivable could

happen. But looking at this season in general, they lost their opening

three games which is probably where they lost their chance of getting

into the play-offs. It is a big disappointment for the Ospreys, with

the calibre of player they have, not to make the play-offs. It is a

disappointing season for them. They left it late because they usually

come on with a good surge at the end of the season. They are good enough

to beat anyone, as they showed last year, but this year I think they

left themselves a little bit too much. They had injuries in the

backline so there was only so much the forwards could do. They have

lost Shane Williams and Tommy Bowe as well.

The Lions tour is less than a month away and Warren Gatland has put an

end to months of spec elation after announcing his 37 man squad. 15

Welshmen, the highest representation since 1977, and the first time a

Welshman has been appointed to lead the squad since then.

To be selected for the Lions is the ultimate accolade. Leigh Halfpenny.

Alex Cuthbert. It was a great feeling. I don't

think I will ever get that sort of feeling against.

George North. It is something I dreamt about as a

boy and I am over the moon to have achieved.

Jonathan Davies. Jamie Roberts. Mike Phillips. Adam Jones.

I was relieved and pleased. Happy and ecstatic.

Gethin Jenkins. Richard Hibbard. Ian Evans. Alun Wyn Jones. Dan Lydiate.

To get this call-up is a massive shock for one, but a huge honour.

Justin Tipuric. Toby Faletau. I am pleased to announce that the

captain of the 2013 British and does it sound real yet? Not at all.

Even Welsh captain still sounds strange. That has taken a long time

to sink in. To play for the Lions is something I have always wanted to do

but the captaincy had not even entered my mind. You look at past

captains and you see people talk about it in the press and it does

not seem like I should be compared to them really, but hopefully if we

have a good tour I can justify the coach picking me. Talk is through

the phone call. I had a missed call off Warren Gatland. I run it stays

on my own and he asked me how my body was feeling, it was after a

recent game against zebra. I set my body was fine. Then he hit me with

it. Do you want to be the British and Irish Lions captain? It is the

most surreal thing I have ever been asked in my life. It was crazy.

Initially I just started laughing. Maybe there was an awkward silence

because I was just getting my head around it. And then I said

definitely. It was a no-brainer. I was absolutely thrilled. My stomach

was filled with excitement, they were butterflies, but it was one of

the best feelings I have had. How will you approach the captaincy?

Will your leadership style change in any way? Not at all. I will do will

-- what I am comfortable with. My priority is the performance and I

will be as professional as I can and hopefully that will set the standard

for the squad. I am the ultimate optimist and competitor, whether it

is playing tug-of-war with the dog at home. I want to go out and win

every game. Whether that is realistic is that for debate. But if

you do lose on the tour, as long as you learn from that experience and

you put things right for the following week, it will be a good

experience. That test series is the one and everybody will have the same

attitude. We will want to go out there and desperately be part of a

test series win because they are quite win. No player has taken the

box yet. Coaches have been there, Neal Jenkins has been there, but no

player has done that and everybody is desperate to make sure they get

that on their rugby CV, a British and Irish Lions test series win.

Understandably delighted there. A few short years ago, he was your

understudy at the Blues and for Wales. Did you think he would be a

Lions captain at the age of 24? I would have been surprised. He is

definitely a lion, without a doubt, but to be a captain at such a young

age is a great achievement. He has had a roller-coaster since the World

Swalec Cup, the infamous red card, but the way he holds himself, he

does his talking on the pitch. He is not going to be making any great

speeches before or after games, he is a leader. He has got a great

relationship with Warren Gatland and that is why he has gone for him. He

knows exactly what the gameplan wants, what the coaches want out of

the team, so it is going to be tough, it is his first tour, and for

the first few weeks it is going to be difficult to take it all in but

he has got great men around him, Brian O'Driscoll, Paul O'Connell and

Gethin Jenkins. Warren Gatland has revealed one factor in his decision

was the fact Sam Warburton seems to have the ear of referees,

particularly Steve Walsh in that game against England. How

significant will that be? Playing the referees is going to be hugely

significant away from home. Getting them on your side and an

understanding of how they are going to referee the match. And then the

relationship to talk to them during the game as well. That could be

crucial. In saying that, you have got Paul O'Connell, Brian

O'Driscoll, a lot of experienced Welsh players. And you have got the

familiarity between a lot of the players, the coaching staff and Sam

as captain. I think that is significant as well.

We saw the backs first and the forwards and the Welshmen in there

at the top of that piece, but what I want to ask you about is this

decision to take only two specialist the English fan base were trying to

get Jonny Wilkinson on the plane but for me taking two is a surprise.

They are both going to be involved mentally tiring as well. I do think

that, I am surprised that James Hook or someone in that vein is not

there. He can play fullback, he can play on the wing or stand-off. But

also the fact they are talking about playing Stuart Hogg at number ten.

For me, Stuart Hogg's priority has got to be to play 15. With the side

in front of him, he could be a real dark horse to get into that test

site because Leigh Halfpenny will be in it. They can move into the wing

for his kicking. I think Dan Biggar is very unlucky. Unless you take one

of those utility players, but taking Jonny Wilkinson would be a backward

step. He is a great kicker but I don't think his game management is

that great and he does not bring Centres into the game. To go to

Australia, we need to play more than just kicking goals and taking three

points. They will score tries against us and I think we have got

to score tries against them. I don't think Jonny Wilkinson is that man.

week, Stuart Barnes said Chris Robshaw can be counting himself the

unluckiest man in Britain and Ireland. Do you agree with that?

did a great job for England a few months ago beating the All Blacks

but in the back row, there is so much strength in depth. At the end

of the day, it is difficult to leave anybody out. It is a bit like the

Jonny Wilkinson factor, a little bit of English bias. The viewing figures

are key as well. But players will get injured, unfortunately. Chris

Robshaw, they had to massive games. England against Wales, he had a good

game but was not better than any of the wheels back rowers. And when

Munster went to harlequins, that was Edinburgh at Murrayfield. Dan

Lydiate was alongside his Wales and Lions colleague Toby Faletau in the

back row as the Dragons sought to end a disappointing season on a

high. Edinburgh were saying goodbye to a stall was of their own. Allan

Jacobsen playing for the last time Faletau. Steffan Jones, into the

22, and under the posts goes Steffan Jones. A tryout of nothing for the

in the world. Harry Leonard. They form an orderly queue for a try on

this side. It is Greig Tonks, the fullback. He will not get an easier

receiver. The forwards take it on. Greig Laidlaw. He squirrels his way

second. That is a remarkable solo score, but it was waxwork defending

it into the 22. Jonathan Evans. The Dragons setting a game. All of a

sudden, Dan Lydiate from nowhere for the Dragons. Dan Lydiate on his

flourish here. Nick De Luca. And that is a should have gone to Spec

Savers bass. Tom Prydie has gotten millennium Stadium, and there were

three trope is -- trophies up for 17 years since Pontypridd beat Neath

in front of 50,000 people. Today, the first score of the afternoon. A

swerve and a dummy, and he had enough pace for a superb solo effort

to put Fishguard into the lead, 10-8 at the break. But their opponents

dominated the second half with four tries. This one was simple, scoring

under the posts. The match was sealed when the replacement took

advantage of the Seagulls being down the boys are warming up, a huge

occasion, let's see how they got on. There was a cracking start to

the second match of the day. A try after 52 seconds. A simple move, and

the winger squeezed over into the corner. But their opponents scored

two tries of their own, both for the centre. Here, he is driven over for

his first, and just before the break, he shows great footwork and

strength to cross for his second and to give the Cockerels a lead at the

break. But there are opponents did not give up, and they scored the try

of the match. This should have been a hat-trick after a controversial

decision earlier on in the match. But it was not enough. It was a

for the big one. Pontypridd and Neath, it is not for the

faint-hearted. The underdogs, Neath, scored the only try of the first

half. A superb solo effort, 13-9 at the break. But Pontypridd showed

their class in the second half with three unanswered tries. They floated

pass, and they crossed in the corner. Minutes later, Clayton got

his second. Two players sucked in before the winger scored. A

comfortable victory in the end, they are now on course for the league and

cup double this season. Much of the talk this season has

centred around the exodus of Welsh players to France, it is no means --

by no means a new phenomenon. In 2007, one player made the move, and

he is still playing fair and loving life in his adopted country. We

After stints with Newport, Neath, clinically and Munster, he moved to

Provence. He still calls this town your home for quite a few years, how

is life? It is not bad. I would say that I am fitting in nicely with the

French culture. Until this weekend, the weather is good! It is a big

change in lifestyle, but it is very agreeable to me at this moment in

time. It was often said at home that you were a Frenchman in disguise,

your flamboyant style. Maybe! I do not know. I had a lot of things to

go along with French lifestyle, which were well-publicised, like

smoking, but I would not say I had a been here if you years, it is a

topic back home, the exodus. From this side of the channel, can you

understand why the euro is so strong? Totally. You have got the

ability as a player to change your playing style to play in another

country, another culture, and being well played -- well-paid to do it,

in front of huge crowds, who adore their team, and play with some of

the greatest players in the world. You look at the Browns, they are

getting bigger and bigger. You have to keep up with the Joneses, they

are worldwide trends. You can see the jerseys in American sport shops

now. They are still making it, so they are doing something right. It

is difficult for the clubs back home to keep their players, but something

has got to be done to make that the case in the future. Otherwise, this

will continue. You have gone native by the look of it, we followed you

through your hometown, speaking fluent French... I get by! I have

never been one for kissing men, that it has creaked in, it is something

that happens! I used to hate coming to France, are used to hate the

food, I could never pull any women, and I could not speak the lingo, but

now, it has turned around a bit. I am happily married with a

Frenchwoman. I can speak the lingo and I love the food, so things are

shaping up. Have you got another season left? One of the reasons I am

still doing it, I spoke to a Frenchman when I came here and he

said, as long as you are still enjoying it and you have got the

ability to stay there, stay there, because once you retire, you have

retired. Enjoy it while you are doing it. Keep doing it. Then we

followed him and his team-mates as they made the trip south. It was the

second leg of a promotion semi-final, they only needed to come

within 15 points to make it through. Chris was keen to hammer home the

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because they drew, so it does not semi-fluent French, he was at the

heart of the action. He put in some big hits. The hosts raced into an

early lead before Avignon snuck ahead. H Wright in the dying moments

gave the hosts a narrow victory, but it was in vain, as Avignon made

It is not easy! We got there. Job done. We did not win, but we kept

the score close enough. This was enough for us to qualify. We are

happy that we came away with what we wanted. A couple of vintage Chris

Wyatt lineouts, just like the old days! Not quite like the old days,

but it is enjoyable! Not affected by age! Was not my perfect game, but I

still have it! The boys are happy.I would love to join in the songs, but

my lyrics are still rubbish. They to say. You have played with him, he

is one of the characters of the game. I am surprised he is still

alive, let alone playing! He played sevens in Dubai. I played with him,

that is how long he has been going! You forget how integral he was to

the 1999 side. It is a shame he did not have a longer time in the Welsh

jersey. A very talented player. talked about the Scarlets earlier,

it was disappointing against Treviso, but they have got a week to

turn it around. Forget last week, it was a great achievement for them to

get to the top four, now they are going to the best team in the Pro12,

they have got to give it everything and see what happens. Belfast is a

tough place to go. There is nothing to lose, they have achieved what

they wanted to do, so hopefully they will be better than Friday night.

the beginning of the season, they would have taken this. Compared to

the other Welsh regions, they would love to be there on Friday night, so

yes, they have got nothing to lose. If they can have a competitive pack

and stop them running the game, they have got good ability behind. They

have got to get the basics right, bring their players into the game.

The final is on BBC Two Wales in a fortnight. We will end with another

glimpse of the Chris Wyatt interview, he is more than willing

to dish out the double kisses, but he is remaining tightlipped about

some things. Everybody we spoke to spoke of you

fondly, a popular figure in Wales, and I spoke to Mark Jones, and he

said, ask him about his Jacuzzi in the back garden! Not a great deal on