:00:19. > :00:25.Good evening. Stay with us for the next half hour as we reflect on the
:00:25. > :00:32.fortunes of Chris Coleman's Wales in the 2014 World Cup double header.
:00:32. > :00:40.There's plenty more besides on We've got football covered big
:00:40. > :00:50.interviews with Joe Allen, Peter The daps are on as we look back at
:00:50. > :00:53.
:00:53. > :00:56.the Cardiff half marathon and the I would not change anything.
:00:56. > :01:04.Plus Gethin Jenkins shares his thoughts on his new life in Toulon
:01:04. > :01:08.and the prospect of facing his old team mates at the Blues. It is
:01:08. > :01:11.going to be a great experience. I cannot wait until I get back out on
:01:11. > :01:13.the field. Well, it's been a week of mixed
:01:13. > :01:17.fortunes for Chris Coleman's Wales in their World Cup qualifying
:01:17. > :01:22.campaign. In a moment we'll hear from the manager on where next for
:01:22. > :01:32.Wales and him personally. But first a reminder of the agony and the
:01:32. > :01:44.
:01:44. > :01:54.Last Friday night in Cardiff and a They are back in this. Two minutes
:01:54. > :01:59.
:01:59. > :02:03.Wales are right back on the World Cup trail. Monday afternoon and
:02:03. > :02:13.renewed optimism in the air as Wales head of for Croatia hoping
:02:13. > :02:17.
:02:17. > :02:26.for better fortune. Daunting maybe the word. Croatia have only lost
:02:26. > :02:33.once in 46 games at home. A goal of their own making. Wales had lay
:02:33. > :02:43.with price to thank for keeping the scoreline down. Wales could not
:02:43. > :02:49.
:02:49. > :02:57.A much improved performance when you look at the Serbia game.
:02:57. > :03:01.character and the team spirit were all working and fighting. A we did
:03:01. > :03:09.not crumble like we did against Serbia. It was disappointing to
:03:09. > :03:15.lose but we came out of there with our heads held high. I probably
:03:15. > :03:25.should have a hooked it out. The ball just got stuck in the Med a
:03:25. > :03:29.
:03:29. > :03:35.little bit. Croatia's headline act got the better. I wanted try and
:03:35. > :03:45.keep doing my best and bring us forward. Hopefully, I will continue
:03:45. > :03:55.to play well. The team return home with three points and three defeats
:03:55. > :04:01.after their opening qualifiers. Back in Cardiff, we sat down with
:04:01. > :04:08.Chris Coleman. Is it realistically all over now. It is out of our
:04:08. > :04:11.hands. Belgium, Croatia. If we had qualified for the last couple of
:04:11. > :04:16.World Cups and European championships and going into the
:04:16. > :04:22.qualifying group on the back of that, OK. That has never happened.
:04:22. > :04:31.Before the kick the ball, we were up against it in a very tough group.
:04:31. > :04:38.Belgium and Croatia have to slip up. Do you write it off and look
:04:38. > :04:44.forward to the next rung? We cannot. Football is a funny game. We never
:04:44. > :04:48.ever write it off. They will be Twister and turns. If one of the
:04:48. > :04:53.buys above us slip then we have a chance to put ourselves back in the
:04:53. > :04:56.mix. Wales will need all the talent at their disposal. Will we ever see
:04:56. > :05:03.Craig Bellamy in the red shirt again go stark I do not know.
:05:03. > :05:09.You'll have to ask him that. I do not know if he is fit or not. I
:05:09. > :05:19.will never go begging. I do not see why I should beg for any player to
:05:19. > :05:19.
:05:20. > :05:23.come back. He is not getting any younger. We have not had him in any
:05:23. > :05:27.of the games which is difficult because he is still a good player.
:05:27. > :05:32.It is not something I want to talk about any more. If you want to come
:05:32. > :05:38.and play for as and be involved, the door is open. He knows that.
:05:38. > :05:48.That is not the issue any more. What people via is that there is no
:05:48. > :05:56.Plan B if Gareth Bale is not available. Do you have a plan?
:05:56. > :06:03.Gareth Bale out of any team will be a loss. He has been terrific for us.
:06:03. > :06:13.Talking about his goals against Scotland. He is the only player to
:06:13. > :06:13.
:06:13. > :06:20.have scored for Wales. You have to find golf. We have to start keeping
:06:20. > :06:27.clean sheets as well. It will be nice to get a half-time put up we
:06:27. > :06:33.are always chasing. Are you happy and confident that you add the man
:06:33. > :06:43.to take us football forward? Probably more confident than a few
:06:43. > :06:48.
:06:48. > :06:52.of you lot. If we had won every game so far. I would not walk away.
:06:52. > :06:56.We have won one game and lost three. It is a tall order for us to
:06:57. > :07:05.qualify. By contract is until the end of the qualifying games. I will
:07:05. > :07:10.see that through. Would you accept that one good game against Scotland
:07:10. > :07:15.has saved you? Maybe. But that is football. After the Scotland wing,
:07:15. > :07:22.I said at the press conference that I was the same manager that there
:07:22. > :07:28.was a touch of hours before. We have gone to Croatia, they were top
:07:28. > :07:36.10 in the world. We lost. In terms of the players and their effort, it
:07:36. > :07:39.was fantastic. I am the same One player who started both World
:07:39. > :07:42.Cup qualifiers over the last week was midfielder Joe Allen who last
:07:42. > :07:49.August followed his former manager Brendan Rodgers out of Swansea City
:07:49. > :07:59.to Liverpool in a deal worth �15 million. 24 hours after returning
:07:59. > :08:02.
:08:02. > :08:10.from Croatia Sport Wales went to Joe Allen returns to club action
:08:10. > :08:16.this weekend after featuring for Wales in the World Cup
:08:16. > :08:24.qualification game. A completely different feeling coming off the
:08:24. > :08:29.pitch than when we played against Serbia. They were a good side. Many
:08:29. > :08:34.have the likes of their players pulling the strings, it makes it
:08:34. > :08:39.difficult. International duty over the summer for Great Britain in the
:08:39. > :08:48.Olympics. That it is time to tournament football for the first
:08:48. > :08:55.time. But all has not been running swiftly. There was a dramatic win
:08:55. > :09:00.over Scotland. The Serbia the feed her to us in many ways. But the
:09:00. > :09:03.victory over Scotland was a great winner to bounce back. The death of
:09:04. > :09:09.Gary Speed has clearly affected this group of Welsh internationals.
:09:09. > :09:18.The impact he had on his profession should not be underestimated.
:09:18. > :09:26.was a massive influence over me. He gave me a fantastic opportunity to
:09:26. > :09:34.play for my country. I was privileged to have that chance and
:09:34. > :09:43.it is all down to him. He was a great man. Outside of football, he
:09:43. > :09:49.was someone you looked up to and was inspiring. He was someone you
:09:49. > :09:54.really did admire and was the kind of person he would like to grow up
:09:54. > :10:00.to be. Having been raised in West Wales and having played for Tenby,
:10:00. > :10:08.he became part of the Swansea City set up. He moved away from Wales to
:10:08. > :10:18.join Liverpool at the end of this summer. It was an hour up the road
:10:18. > :10:19.
:10:19. > :10:25.to Swansea City. I spent many years Many have been somewhere for so
:10:25. > :10:30.long, it is a difficult decision. You are sorry to leave in some ways
:10:30. > :10:36.but I saw it as a fresh challenge for myself and I had always do
:10:36. > :10:43.dreamed of doing it. I left on great terms. Having the chance to
:10:43. > :10:46.join was exciting. To play in front of the crowd at Anfield was an
:10:46. > :10:54.experience you do not get in many places in the world. It is early
:10:54. > :11:00.days in terms of my career here but my only aim and focus is purely on
:11:00. > :11:04.going out there and doing my job for the team. As long as I can
:11:04. > :11:14.focus on that and become a better player, and my career will continue
:11:14. > :11:18.
:11:18. > :11:22.to go on. At Anfield he has linked The last couple of years were a
:11:22. > :11:27.great time for me personally at Swansea City and for Swansea City
:11:27. > :11:31.as a club. They are heading in a great direction. That is a very
:11:31. > :11:38.successful period. It was great to be part of that with him there as
:11:38. > :11:43.manager. In terms of bedding in here, it has made it easier. It has
:11:43. > :11:48.been a poor start for for the season for a young Liverpool side.
:11:48. > :11:52.But the Welshman expects the club to stick with the style of football
:11:52. > :11:56.for some time to come. You need people to show faith and have
:11:56. > :12:01.confidence in your ability and confidence that you can add
:12:01. > :12:06.something to the team. There are some world-class players here and
:12:06. > :12:10.that style of play will only enhance Liverpool Football Club. I
:12:10. > :12:19.am looking forward to seeing how the season pans out and getting
:12:19. > :12:22.Well we're turn our attention to rugby now and the Cardiff Blues are
:12:22. > :12:26.desperate to get their Heineken Cup campaign back on track this weekend.
:12:26. > :12:28.But it won't be an easy task. While the Blues, like the other Welsh
:12:28. > :12:34.regions, have been tightening their purse strings, Sunday's opponents
:12:34. > :12:37.Toulon have been splashing the cash and are top of the French league.
:12:37. > :12:47.One of their many international stars, Gethin Jenkins, is a former
:12:47. > :12:59.
:12:59. > :13:06.Blue and is relishing the chance to Six years ago, Toulon were a mid-
:13:06. > :13:13.season -- in mid-table club. It is a very different story today. They
:13:13. > :13:17.are tipped for a European and domestic double. Millions of pounds
:13:17. > :13:27.have been pumped in and a galaxy of international superstars have been
:13:27. > :13:31.
:13:31. > :13:37.assembled. Gethin Jenkins is the When I first came here I was a bit
:13:37. > :13:41.weary. I had not really spoken to some of the players here. I have
:13:41. > :13:45.been here for two or three months and I get on really well with them.
:13:45. > :13:49.There are boys from South Africa and New Zealand and some from
:13:49. > :13:59.England and Australia. It is a good environment and we all get on very
:13:59. > :14:02.well. Playing against Botha over the years, you think he is a bit of
:14:02. > :14:07.a stubborn bloke to get on with. But he is hilarious. He keeps the
:14:07. > :14:16.squad going. He is a great player and it is great to be in the same
:14:16. > :14:24.team as people like him. You have spoken of your frustration this
:14:24. > :14:28.season. Once that so far and you are up against Andrew Sheridan put
:14:28. > :14:38.up how frustrating is it for you to come out here and Spencer much time
:14:38. > :14:48.
:14:48. > :14:56.On the positive side, the team has gone it really well. I have been
:14:56. > :15:02.involved in 12 games. So, whereas it is not the same as starting, I
:15:02. > :15:07.have had some at rugby under the belt. Definite will start this
:15:07. > :15:13.weekend when his new team faces of old team. And there is history
:15:13. > :15:18.between the two. The last time they met, Gethin Jenkins led them to a
:15:18. > :15:28.victory. A strange experience for me. Keeping a good diet on the
:15:28. > :15:34.
:15:34. > :15:44.Blues this year. It will be a great experience. Hopefully, I am short
:15:44. > :15:45.
:15:45. > :15:54.there will be a bit of banter being thrown about. It will be a tough
:15:54. > :16:00.game. A great encounter. Toulon it remains a big concern for Welsh
:16:00. > :16:05.rugby. The regions are desperate to stop other big stars following in
:16:05. > :16:10.Gethin Jenkins's footsteps. The Union's chief executive has claimed
:16:10. > :16:15.to the offer of contracts has been rejected by the regions. Gethin
:16:15. > :16:22.Jenkins has now seen both sides of the coin. From a player's point of
:16:22. > :16:27.view, 80 or 10 years, I was based in Wales. It does not make a
:16:27. > :16:32.massive difference. You get looked after in training because, at the
:16:32. > :16:39.end of the day, the main goal is to get the national team as good as
:16:39. > :16:47.possible. The these players coming out, they do need to be playing in
:16:47. > :16:51.Wales. No idea how old you go about it. The money being offered in
:16:51. > :16:56.France is significantly higher, but I do think we need to keep our
:16:56. > :17:01.Welsh players in Wales. There are some concerns you may well miss the
:17:01. > :17:08.game in the autumn, and potentially the first game in the Lions tour.
:17:08. > :17:13.Have you done anything to address that? Firstly, with the Lions
:17:13. > :17:23.situation, I am not even thinking about that. A lot of things can
:17:23. > :17:24.
:17:24. > :17:33.happen. With the Australia game, I really want to play that game.
:17:33. > :17:37.Country always comes first. If it came down to read, and to none said
:17:37. > :17:46.you can play for Wales and the Australian game, it would you take
:17:46. > :17:54.that? Definitely. You don't want to miss one of the games again. It is
:17:54. > :17:57.a case of me and my agent going in and negotiating with the club.
:17:57. > :18:00.And you can listen to all the European action on Radio Wales and
:18:00. > :18:03.Radio Cymru. Last Sunday, more than 18,000 people took to the streets
:18:04. > :18:10.of Cardiff for the city's annual Half Marathon, cheered on by one of
:18:11. > :18:14.the true greats of British distance running. A Welsh legend was in town
:18:14. > :18:24.to raise the profile of the event and help inspire a new generation
:18:24. > :18:37.
:18:37. > :18:42.of runners. Sport Wales went to He was a humble RAF technician
:18:43. > :18:47.whose achievements were anything but a modest. In the '80s, he was
:18:47. > :18:54.the man to catch, winning a marathon some breaking records. But
:18:54. > :19:03.he lacked an ego. His superstar runner but a super shy man. I am
:19:04. > :19:12.comfortable in my own environment. This is not comfortable. I am a bit
:19:12. > :19:18.fidgety. It was hard to come to terms with. But it has been great.
:19:18. > :19:23.Sometimes, I say to myself, I wish I could not break a world record,
:19:23. > :19:30.but I would not change anything. And turn still riding on the crest
:19:30. > :19:36.of a wave. In 1984, and broke the world record, that was the first
:19:36. > :19:40.full marathon you completed. I knew something was happening. The race
:19:40. > :19:46.director leaned over, and I was a minute and a half in front of him,
:19:46. > :19:55.and he shouts up, Steve! A couple more miles and you will get the
:19:55. > :20:00.record. I still did not know what to world record was until I crossed
:20:00. > :20:08.the line and everybody were shouting about it. Jones, looks to
:20:08. > :20:11.me as if he is feeling the pain. stomach problem meant that Jones
:20:11. > :20:21.had to relieve himself at the roadside! But he still managed to
:20:21. > :20:23.
:20:23. > :20:31.beat his great rival. I said to Charlie, stop. You did a Paula
:20:31. > :20:41.Radcliffe? Yes! I stopped, and Charlie thought he had got it. All
:20:41. > :20:45.of a sudden, I was not there. But within another 150 yards, I got it.
:20:45. > :20:50.The fastest marathon ever runner in this country! And the same year,
:20:50. > :20:56.you go back into the Chicago Marathon and set another record for
:20:56. > :21:02.a British runner. I missed the world record by one second. What
:21:02. > :21:12.does it say that 27 years on, you are still a British record holder?
:21:12. > :21:13.
:21:13. > :21:18.It is a good record! Some people like to bring in garlands and
:21:18. > :21:22.therapists and chiropractors and physical therapist some dieticians
:21:22. > :21:29.and everything, but really, all you need to do is put your running
:21:29. > :21:35.shoes on and go for a run. Simple as that. Jones now coaches young
:21:35. > :21:43.athletes, but is back in Wales to turn the Cardiff half in up to one
:21:43. > :21:48.of the UK's top three marathons and encourage fresh running Tarrant --
:21:48. > :21:58.talent. I am not quite sure where to go. When they see a great event
:21:58. > :22:03.on their doorstep, that is great for Wales. There is known run for
:22:03. > :22:09.old time's sake but Steve Jones - he has got a hamstring problem. But
:22:09. > :22:18.he is here to see off the 18,000 runners. And you never know, there
:22:18. > :22:26.might just be a start in the future to follow in his tracks. The 30
:22:26. > :22:34.mile race was won by a Kenyan. He came in at 62 minutes 21. For Carol
:22:34. > :22:41.Jones, and the best Welsh Male, the prize at - or a week's training as
:22:41. > :22:47.Steve Jones's Colorado training camp. One of those guys whose
:22:47. > :22:52.distance running was a good thing in Britain. It was great. I said, I
:22:52. > :23:01.am sure I will learn something. It is an incentive to keep pushing on.
:23:01. > :23:06.He was such an inspiration. He was fantastic in his time. If he does
:23:07. > :23:12.not inspire, nothing will. philosophy and how my group trains,
:23:12. > :23:19.the kind of group spirit we have, and hopefully some of it rubs off
:23:19. > :23:25.on you. That desire and ambition to become great. We have got to get
:23:25. > :23:31.good, quality races in Wales for Welsh athletes. And ask for a
:23:31. > :23:37.better ambassador to. Very emotional, to see so many people
:23:37. > :23:42.enjoying themselves. What a shame they could not see a legend that
:23:42. > :23:50.there with your hamstring injury. Maybe they will next year. It
:23:50. > :23:53.inspires me as well. It just brings it back to me.
:23:53. > :23:56.Back to football now and this Saturday, Cardiff City face a trip
:23:56. > :24:01.to the City Ground to face Nottingham Forest with the
:24:01. > :24:11.Bluebirds bidding for a fourth win in a row. Lisa Rogers has been to
:24:11. > :24:16.
:24:16. > :24:26.meet two of the players involved in The championship season at this 10
:24:26. > :24:43.
:24:43. > :24:50.games old, and Cardiff City are at You have a kind of here it -- been
:24:50. > :24:55.here before. How does it feel this time? It is nice to be at the top
:24:55. > :25:05.because you know you are doing something right. It is one of those
:25:05. > :25:06.
:25:06. > :25:14.that is the championship. It will be tough, but we relish it. Doing
:25:14. > :25:19.well, top of the league and winning games. Just got to continue. Craig
:25:19. > :25:26.Noone signed for �1 million from Brighton Hove Albion, and it seems
:25:26. > :25:30.he has revelled in it rather well. The first day he came in, he had an
:25:30. > :25:38.interview where he sank a mysterious girl! He got quite
:25:38. > :25:43.embarrassed. Rightly so, to be honest. He is a great lad and done
:25:44. > :25:49.poorly in a for us. He is something we have not really got. He is very
:25:49. > :25:59.direct. It gets us up the pitch. Slowed people like me can try and
:25:59. > :26:06.
:26:06. > :26:11.I wasn't particularly worried because I knew I would score at
:26:11. > :26:21.some point. Peter Whittingham, on the other hand, has been smashing
:26:21. > :26:22.
:26:22. > :26:30.the girls end. -- the goals end. am just happy about how I am
:26:31. > :26:35.contributing to the team. He always wants me to improve. It is going
:26:35. > :26:45.well, but we cannot rest on our laurels. In my first game, but I
:26:45. > :26:49.
:26:49. > :26:54.scored. He was just relaxed and not bothered. The issuers - can they
:26:54. > :27:01.stay at top? The last time Carbeth it up after 10 games, they ended up
:27:01. > :27:06.finishing 13th. We were still going through the transitional phase. But
:27:06. > :27:12.now, things have settled. The new gaffer has come then, with his own
:27:12. > :27:17.way of thinking. The takeover has changed things as well, but now, it
:27:17. > :27:26.is starting to settle down. It will be hard for everybody to gel, but
:27:26. > :27:31.at the minute, we have gelled OK. want to be here. Even before that,
:27:31. > :27:37.I knew Cardiff as the team always up there. The first thing I thought
:27:38. > :27:42.about was I have got to get a goal in at some point. We do not really
:27:42. > :27:50.want the whole play-off thing again, especially with me. People say it
:27:51. > :27:55.is the best way to go while. Forest on Saturday. It will be a tough
:27:55. > :28:00.game. We have played Forest that many times again. They are quite
:28:00. > :28:07.solid at home, but the way we are feeling at the minute, we are happy
:28:07. > :28:10.to be playing games. But we were ready to pick up and go again.
:28:11. > :28:14.That's it for this evening, but just a reminder, do you know
:28:14. > :28:18.someone who deserves to be our BBC Cymru Wales Sports Unsung Hero this
:28:18. > :28:20.year? They have to be unpaid and over 16-years-old. All the details
:28:20. > :28:23.are at www.bbc.co.uk/sportwales and the closing date to nominate