21/09/2012 Sport Wales

Good evening from Swansea were tonight we will mark the club's

incredible ten-year journey from bottom of the Football League to

the dizzy heights of the Premier League's top five. Stay with us for

that and plenty more on tonight's Sport Wales. Tonight, we look at

the implications of the row threatening the Heineken Cup.

cannot make his work and continued with a proper European competition,

it does not look good for Welsh rugby. We hear in Pembrokeshire for

the extreme cliff diving and it is no place for the faint-hearted.

you were to look at any diver before they took off, you will see

Mackay to top Bellamy, promotion and the rebranding. The club

manages to be promoted at some point, if that happens because of

the owners' Investment, there will be lots of happy people here.

first, we have come to a historic football ground. This is what is

left of the Vetch. It is exactly a decade since Swansea City trot to

the lowest point of its history, bottom of the entire Football

League. Tomorrow, they host Everton with the chance to go level on

points with Premier League leaders Chelsea. Last night's defeat saw

Swansea drop to the bottom of the Football League for the first time

in their history. Survival for Swansea City. Swansea are back in

the Championship for the first time in 24 years. # Do you realise...

Swansea City are the first Welsh representatives in the Premier

League. To appreciate where they are now, remember where Swansea

were 10 years ago. Ruck bottom after defeat at Boston, a turning

point that would, in time, end the decline and despair. It was thrown

together. Nick Cusack was the manager at the time and he was

given a budget whatsoever. The majority of the team was picked

from a trial match, where it was virtually people who had not been

taken up by other clubs. It is fair to say that the Swans were scraping

the barrel. Boston, I think it was a Tuesday night. To go bottom of

League that day, things could not have got any worse. Brian Flynn has

been confirmed as Swansea City's new director of football with Kevin

Reeves taking over as first-team coach. You probably wondered

whether the club would continue to exist. There was a general lack of

spirit and enthusiasm around the City for the club. That was the

first thing we had to do, I think, to get a bit of pride back.

Salvation came right at the last time of asking as they beat hull

mack on the final day, thanks to a invention of a special man.

stadium was packed. There were so many people there, so much emotion.

I think when I sang for the Swans, it was almost meant to be. --

signed for the Swans. I scored a hat-trick to keep us in the

Football League. Unbelievable. Everybody pull together. The game

at Hull was I think the biggest result in the history of the club.

Just two years later, with Brian Flynn a victim of Swansea's

progress, promotion from the bottom division under Kenny Jackett.

there were massive games, we would look at the club and see to find a

result -- try to find a result. And we did against Burnley. Moving to a

new stadium, we felt as if the club was gaining momentum. It was a

great choice at that time. Everything I thought he could give

us, he gave us, the structure behind the scenes and the way that

he approached games to make sure that we started winning more than

we lost. Kenny Jackett had taken Swansea to the League 1 play-off

final. His successor when further. Swansea were promoted as champions.

Roberto Martinez brought success in some style. IPT change the culture

of the club. I think in the history of the club, the Swansea teams have

always put in good teams. Roberto Martinez to cut -- to get back to

its traditions of old, getting us passing the ball from the back

through to midfield. It was a fantastic style of football. To

watch and to play. There was an identity for Swansea City. Back in

the day, it was play-off the frontman. But now it is about

getting into eye-catching football, so to speak. Looking at the likes

of Barcelona and Real Madrid, Spain. After coming close under piles sews

up, it was Brendan Rodgers' Swansea side who passed their way into the

Premier League via a Wembley play- off win. There was always a doubt

that we could go to Wembley and win. I think we have to congratulate

Brendan at the time for how he has managed the team, and we were

exceptional on that day. That is probably as good a day as I have

ever experienced in a club, as a player or coach. When the final

whistle went, it was that, I cannot believe this has happened! Even

when we start to the Premiership -- Premiership, it did not feel like

we are in the Premiership. It felt like we are playing a cup game.

They have made themselves at home in the top. You know you have made

progress when you were disappointed to drop to 5th as Swansea did last

week. Redemption tomorrow, perhaps, against Everton. David Morrison has

done a great job with them and that is something we can look at as a

club, we can see how Everton have progressed from a small team into a

well-established club. You will always look back and consider how

tough things have been, and how lucky we are. And how lucky we

should always think we are, to be at this level. Sad news this week

with the passing of former Swansea City chairman Malcolm stroll, the

man credited with appointing John Toshack as player-manager in 1978.

And there will be more football later in the programme when we hear

from Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay. From the cities, we head

west. Wales' landscape means it has become increasingly popular as a

location for extreme sports. Recently, the world cliff diving

championships came to Wales for the first time and temperature was

chosen for the event. -- Pembrokeshire.

The Blue Lagoon in a Abereiddi. After the walls of a slate quarry

were breached, the Pit Basin was flooded too great a sheltered pool.

At high tide, it can be 25 metres deep. It was here that the best

divers in the world came to compete in the penultimate leg of the 2012

championships. Cliff diving is thought of as being the least

complicated of all extreme sports. There is not women to buy, no

special clothing. You just jump off the equivalent of an eight-storey

building. Throw in a few somersaults on the way down and hit

the water at speeds of up to 55mph. It is claimed that cliff diving

started in the 17th 70s as a test of courage to a Hawaiian King. --

1770s. It has eventually become a competitive world sport. You were

an Olympic diver. How does this compare? A Olympic diving was 10

metres and this is 27. Essentially, it is the same at the start. The

same motion at the beginning, but is suddenly changes. You cannot go

head-first, because the impact is so strong. It is about getting as

little splash as possible, and as straight a line as possible.

judges will judge the take-off, the flight, and the landing. The

highest and lowest score out of the five judges will be taken away and

the middle three will be added together and then multiplied by the

degree of difficulty of the dive. Mentally and physically, it is far

more demanding than Olympic diving. I think if you were to look at any

diver before they take off, you will see fear. I consistently say

that you have to keep your fear at the right level. If it is too low,

then you do not care and you will do something stupid and get hurt.

If it is too high, likewise, maybe your body will tense up and you

will do something out of the ordinary. You have to keep your

fear at a friendly level. I was looking forward to this for a long

time, knowing that finally I was going to get to do a competition on

home turf. The crowd were amazing. It has been great to see what these

guys have been doing today. It is a pretty scary height. 10 metres is

high, you think, but 27 metres, I think they are mental. In third

place, Gary Hunt from Southampton. The current leader of this year's

series, the Colombian, came second. And the Welsh winner, with his

first cliff diving victory, was the American. Obviously, for me, this

has produced my best result so far. Really, when we get on the platform,

it was a nice weight. The plans for more sturdy, which is nice and the

water looks inviting. It is hard to not like a location like that.

have been to some of the most amazing locations. For me, Wales

has been the best stock so far. It is picturesque. The Blue Lagoon is

fantastic. Stunning scenes. Good to see Jamie Roberts and Lloyd-

Williams taking time out. And we turn to rugby now. Once again, it

is matches off the field -- matter us off the field that have hit the

headlines. The future of the Heineken Cup is in doubt after the

English sides in Premier League rugby announced a new television

deal. We take a look at what it means for the four Welsh regions.

If we cannot make his work and continue with a proper European

competition, I do not think it looks good for us. There are pros

and cons, and as a Welsh region, along with the union, are looking

at things that suits us best for our needs. It is not in the

interests of England for us to compete. Everyone says it is not

about rugby -- money, but in truth, it is totally about money. Not for

the first time, rugby's European Cup has been thrown into

uncertainty and confusion. Emergency meetings had been held as

the future structure, ownership and composition of the tournament has

been forced into debate. 24 teams from England, France, Wales,

Ireland, Scotland and Italy currently make up signs in the

Heineken Cup. Premier rugby represents the 12 top-flight clubs

in England. Beattie vision have agreed a deal to broadcast English

domestic league matches from next season and European games from 2014,

2015. The French and the English have given two year's notice to

withdraw. When the deal ends in 2014. The body who run European

Rugby say that Sky hold the right so it -- hold the rights to

broadcast European games in the UK broadcast European games in the UK

in 2014 and plan to extend that for a further four years, so where does

that leave the Welsh region? think it has been very provocative

by the English clubs to come out with the proclamation that they

have come out with. That they have a new deal, including the European

competition which is not theirs to sell. Having said that, whilst that

was antagonistic, it has actually raised the expectations of the

raised the expectations of the other countries, such as Wales, in

terms of what could be available. We need to look at ensuring that we

do not lose any more financial income. The game is on its knees

and we really need some help. We need to make sure we make a dash 8

it -- make an exciting domestic product. We need to make it as

exciting for the fans as possible. With the English and French clubs

having given notice to terminate, I think all it is going to do it is

actually antagonise the other unions. Because it is seen as a

further bully-boy tactic, perhaps. We have been here before. 14 years

ago the English teams, along with Swansea and Cardiff, pulled out of

the Heineken Cup. Cardiff's Chief Executive at the time can empathise

with the current disgruntled attitude. You could call the

English clubs arrogant, but they're probably showing a bit of

commercial reality. It is the big country, and rugby is a box to go

for commercial partners, and broadcasters. -- rugby takes the

right boxes. The is only one way with dealing -- of dealing with

bullies, to hit them in the nose or you will continue being bullied.

They have to stand up and say, look, if you want to be part in a

competition that we believe in, a great competition, you have to work

within the organisation, not throw your toys out of the caught and say

that you're not going to play. The French clubs have threatened this

before but they have the ability to threaten but it never actually

happens. If the French and English pull-out, it leaves just the PRO12

teams involved. The Cup tournament with the same participants with at

-- same participants at the league structure would not appeal to many,

so what can be done to placate the Have a moment, the stupid thing

about that Pro12 competition is that the team can finish 12 and go

to the Heineken Cup but a team can finish fourth and not go through.

It we say it is could be based on the top six in Pro12, you could

have some years where there are no Italians, no Scottish, no Irish or

Welsh. That is fundamentally wrong. There is almost an morality issue.

If you want to grow the game and encourage youngsters, I think we

need to make sure that all the countries have a minimum

representation. From the perspective of the RFU, greater

competition in the Pro12 could have an impact on the chances of England

in the Six Nations. It would not be unhappy if the regions were forced

to field their strongest teams more often in the Pro12, so that their

players get almost as battered as the English and French. The French

federation also gave notice to quote back in June. There is

opinion in both unions that the way that the Heineken Cup is set up

does have an impact on the international stage, especially the

Six Nations. Just as English clubs are able to rest their leading

players for large parts of the season, starting in late and then

resting before the Six Nations, it does have an impact on that

tournament. What is the likely resolution? The posturing will no

doubt continue and more meetings will be held. This is an

opportunity to stand back and have a look at where we want to go and

what we want to achieve. It is actually quite an exciting time.

England probably have to give a little bit in terms are bringing

their commercial cloud and experience to the table and Wales

will have to give a bit in terms of qualification. Hopefully all

regions can qualify. The one thing you can always agree on is, we have

not got any work, so we will agree to have another meeting to agree

something. That is the nature of the beast. Back to football. While

Swansea City enjoy life in the Premiership, Cardiff City have had

a great start in the championship. They made it three wins in a row of

on Tuesday night against Millwall. Does manager Malky Mackay can now

think they have the squad for promotion? Lisa Rogers went to meet

2-0 win at Millwall, never an easy place to go. Delighted. It is a

hostile environment at the best of times, and it is a place where in

their plea we have not done well. So to get two goals and come away

with three points, we are delighted. Third win on the trot. How much to

look at those kind of stats? cannot be carried away. It is far

too early. By you look at your run of form and how you are playing. To

have beaten Wolves, Leeds and Millwall is certainly pleasing.

Over at the summer, his former club, Norwich City, made inquiries about

bringing him back to East Anglia. It was something that was foist.

But I think given what the club had done last year, my link to they

Clarke and how I played, meant I was like there. But I was committed

here. They have put money into the team. They have invested in a new

training facility which I would like to open, I would like to shape.

These are real forward-thinking times at Cardiff City.

Investment came about because of the change in colour, we are led to

believe. There were a lot of had lined up the time. Do you think you

are moving on from that? We keep winning in red, which helps! But

there's a lot of tradition attached to football clubs and because of

that it was something that was incredibly off the wall at the time,

in terms of going from blue to red. The owner has stated by he was

doing it and what he would get out of the club if he was allowed to do

it. I think, after he stated that and how much investment he would

put in, clear the club debt, bankrolled the club and invest in

the team, invest in the infrastructure, when they decided

to make the change and invest the team, I think most people got that.

Change takes time but if the club managers to be promoted in the next

couple of years, then if that is because of Tim Bresnan, then a lot

of people will be happy. There has been some speculation about Craig

Bellamy following allegations about his private life and his commitment

to the game. He did not actually talk to the magazine, was an

interview there was chopped up and came out in bits and pieces. From

the moment he has come here he has applied himself fortunately well.

Unfortunately against Brighton he cut a calf tear. All of assault and

conspiracy theories were out that he was retiring from football,

which is laughable, really. He was injured for three weeks and he came

back and you saw the goal that he scored. He is committed to the club.

He is going to the Antichrist and talking to them. It is early in the

season but do you feel that more than any time since you arrived,

you can look at your squad and thing, perhaps this is the year

that we go up? You can any measure it in terms of the squat and

everything that has gone on here in terms of the last year, we are

certainly progressing. The squad that was hit by Stuart Ripley put

an effort in and ended up in top six and a Carling Cup final. -- the

squad that was here last year. The squat now are stronger, higher

quality squat and do have players that I feel are committed to

wanting to do well. I think the more of them that you have got,

both in terms of players and staff, the more Cheju have of doing well.

Cardiff City travel back tomorrow to London to face Crystal Palace.

But Nicky Maynard is added to having suffered a ligament injury

and Rob Earnshaw has gone one- season loan to Maccabi Tel Aviv.

will be a tough game. Thanks for talking to us. Her pleasure.

can listen to it like commentary of that match on Radio Wales. Staying

with football, and a look back at a day of reckoning for the Wales

women's team as they faced skull and did a crucial Euro 2013

qualifier. -- Scotland. Only a win would do.

Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli, and Wales arrive far pleased --

arguably the biggest game in their history. It will be close but I

would say to-want to Wales. It is such an important game, we have to

win. Chances were limited for both teams. Wales came close with this

effort. 37 minutes in, it was advantage Wales. Helen Lander

following up to score. But the lead would last just seven minutes.

Scotland equalised on the brink of half-time through Joanne Love.

Women's football in this country is doing fantastically. Ironically, in

the FIFA rankings, they are as high as our men's team. I'm sure they

will be a higher climate in the near future. In the second half,

Wales might have restored their lead. But it went past the post. A

costly miss, perhaps, as Scotland went on to end Welsh hopes of a

first ever finals appearance. Game over, dream over. Scotland beating

Wales to second place in the group and the elusive play-off spot.

disappointed that he eventually comes down to goals conceded. After

getting our noses in front with a good goal. We are proud of the

campaign we have had. It shows in how disappointed we are full stop

it shows how far we have come. are committed to train like

professionals and that is a big platform. We need to do at base to

support these players, so there we can provide a fair chance.

women's under 19th will be the home nations for Euro 20 13th. We want

to qualify ourselves but we are also happy to host. If you hosts,

you have automatic qualification, which we are delighted to take.