2012 Welsh Sports Review

and drama of this last year in In Wales, we are united by our love

of sport and divided by our We can all be moved by sport, but

this was a year apart. We were united, divided, and moved. What

sport really did this year was stop us in our tracks. Amazing.

Brilliant. Great feeling. Brilliant. Incredible. Beautiful. Wow. Bang!

So, let's stop again. Find a seat, the best in the house. Sit back.

Relive this sporting year of years. 12 months of gold medals, grand

slams, Premier League shocks, knockout punches and penalty

shootouts. This is the Welsh Sports Review 2012. Where do we start?

Well, at the beginning of course! Cast your minds back to January, if

you will. The depths of winter. The heights of the Premiership. With

Swansea City still dogged by the question - could they survive up

here? Why should a club as grand as Arsenal fear coming here? Arst

kneel -- Arsenal lead 1-0. 1-1. It's Dyer. It's 2-1. Nathan Dyer,

for Swansea. Here comes Swansea again with Danny Graham. It's 3-2.

I don't believe it. It's a day for Swansea to savour. They have beaten

Arsenal by 3-2. End to end. It was entertaining and Swansea, you know,

out passed Arsenal at times. I was at the game. It was fantastic. What

was truly amazing though was that it wasn't like a little team

winning a Cup tie against a massive team. Suddenly, there was a belief,

yeah, why shouldn't we be here? Swansea City flying high. Here's

one of those divisions. A stark sporting contrast. Rugby's January.

One by one, the four regions dropped out of European competition.

So, which was the national game of February means one thing in this

country, well six things, actually. The Six Nations. After Wales'

heroics at the World Cup in New Zealand, at the tail end of 2011,

expectations were high. Sunday, February 5th, the Aviva Stadium,

Dublin. An Irish storm was brewing. Who might ride it? Our prodigy.

Gorgeous George. Wask North nrt in that game against Ireland was, it

reminded me that the tactic when you were playing rugby in school of

giving the ball to the one massive kid that you've got in your team

who, there is always one. He is aged 116789 by break time has 5.00

shadow. You give him the ball. They run in a straight line, casting the

inferior kids out of the way like confetti. George North. Then,

crashing over the line and scoring a try with one or two of the more

determined ones hanging on. Roberts. Davies. North. Big man, strong man.

George North he has all the attributes of being a superstar. I

am Rae glad he is Welsh. I'm glad I'm not marking. That little soft,

offlow pass. Beautiful. George North, Jonathan Davies. It's

happening for Wales all of a sudden. And then, Bradley Davies made that

tackle that should have been a red card. You know, it clearly was a

red card. You just thought, oh, no. Don't throw it away. We are down to

14 men again. When Bradley did that the entire Welsh nation went - did

you not learn from Sam? It was as if we were seeing history repeating

itself. It's what history does. Stephen Ferris, repeating it.

all comes down to Leigh Halfpenny, and a penalty am you think, what is

going through his mind? He must be thinking of that World Cup semi-

final against France. This is his moment of redemption. He must have

that, kind of, oh, God, what if it happens again?

COMMENTATOR: Leigh Halfpenny kicks the penalty. Wales have won in

Ireland. In a match that has been dramatic from start to finish.

you are going to beat Ireland in Dublin, you want to do it in injury

time and get off there as quickly as you can. It could easily have

gone the other way. Seven days later, the bruises from Dublin

still sore, the first home game of the six nation, Scotland and the

emergence of a new giant, on the other wing. It's Alex Cuthbert.

Alex Cuthbert gets Wales off to a perfect start. Come on! The age of

the giant. Brian the Organ of West Wales and the world! Over 100,000

internet hits for our maun man doing his bit for -- man doing his

bit for our country. He was so funny. He was really excited and

excited. I won't repeat what he said. It was absolutely hilarious.

Who ever thought of filming him. It was his grandson or something.

Brilliant. Should stay on the internet forever! Next stop,

Twickers. As long as we beat the English, says the song, smashem,

says Jonathan Davies. We have to go to Twickenham really we could

absolutely smashem them physically. COMMENTATOR: We are at the heart of

the Championship. It is the game at the crossroads, two sides unbeaten.

A thumping tackle. What a tackle by Warburton. It was such a tense game.

It was nip and tuck. And then, suddenly this little angel dropped

from heaven, came into the middle this incredible cauldron and...

Artful Dodger, Scot Williams picks the lock. Strips the ball from

Courtney Laws. COMMENTATOR: Williams. He's done it.

Scot Williams for Wales. He scores the try that might take Wales to

their Triple Crown at Twickenham. They have never won a Triple Crown

here. This could be their first. But, there was still time for one

last twist. I was right up above the corner when there was that

final attack. Leigh Halfpenny came from nowhere to get there.

COMMENTATOR: Here we go. Again it was Leigh Halfpenny running across

the width of the pitch to make that last-minute tackle.

COMMENTATOR: Did he get the ball down? Halfpenny, with no kind of

thought to his own safety, just throws himself at him. Then, we

have to go through the video ref, which seemed to take forever!

COMMENTATOR: They will go upstairs. It has been played on the big

screen. No try. Inconclusive. try! The game is over.

COMMENTATOR: Wales have won here at Twickenham. They complete the

Triple Crown. Three wins out of Wales have recruited a bazaar fan,

it's the Hoff. It was the most amazing game we have ever seen.

When the guys stole the ball and scored the touch down. It was

amazing. To stop the try at the end. Halfpenny and Jamie Roberts --

George North. George North stopped the try. That very same evening,

back in Cardiff, but not so very far from the action at Twickenham,

Nathan Cleverly was preparing to defend his WBO Light-heavyweight

Title against Tommy Karpency. Now, at the Motorpoint Arena it was

Nathan's turn. One way traffic this from the World Champion. Cleverly

all over Karpency. The WBO Light- heavyweight Champion of the world,

Nathan Cleverly. This weekend wasn't over. The following day,

Nathan Cleverly's favourite football team, Cardiff City, were

back at Wembley for the fourth time in five seasons.

COMMENTATOR: It's a wonderful view. Wembley look as picture. Really

good showcase for English football right around the world. This game

is being screened in an estimated 151 countries worldwide. I don't

think many people gave Cardiff a chance. I think they thought

Liverpool would walk over them, it would be 4-0, a Championship side

against Premier League side. It was Liverpool. It's mason.

COMMENTATOR: Cardiff City lead. Off In it comes again. It's flicked

across again. It's in! Cardiff are level. Ben Turner with the goal.

The moment that I think about most was, because it happened right in

front of me, was Kenny Miller missing, not quite an open goal,

nearly an open goal in the last- minute or so.

COMMENTATOR: It's Miller. Will Cardiff get a better chance to win

it than that? For those of us stood ten yards back from where it

happened, it's difficult to get over things like that. Not only did

they give them a really good game they took it to penalties. It was

an extraordinary situation of the two Gerrards,.

COMMENTATOR: It's saved. Gerrard missed one. We thought - it's our

day. It's our day. COMMENTATOR: Miller missed as well.

That's in. Cardiff one up. No mistake. It hits the post. We are

all level again. Stuart Downing scores for Liverpool. Pressure for

Johnson. Into the roof! Cardiff have to score. Anthony Gerard has

It was pretty agonising, but a great achievement. Life is full of

No joy for the Bluebirds against the Reds at Wembley. It wouldn't be

the last time this year but below would give way to read at Cardiff

On 29th February, Wales played Costa Rica, a memorial match for

Spring was in the air. Stage four of the march towards the Grand Slam.

-- Italy. And Alex was at it again. Cuthbert, Cuthbert, Cuthbert! Can

he make it to the line? Yes, he can! Grand Slam fever could burn,

but rugby didn't hold all the headlines. From Cardiff to Swansea,

as the swan flies, and they were still flying. For to strike! A win

against Wigan, but could they do it against the richest team in the

world? When we played man City, four of Manchester City's players,

their individual transfer value was worth more than the whole of our

team on the pitch. Manchester City's squad, worth over �300

million, in the hunt for the title, and here they were at the Liberty

And the League leaders are behind. Another masterclass at home from

Swansea. To beat the club of the calibre of Manchester City, with

all those players that they had available, Swansea was certainly

worth the three points that day. was inevitable with all this going

on at Swansea that Brendan would soon be courted by the big clubs.

But he was here to stay, wasn't he? I am in no hurry to go away from

Grand Slam day in Cardiff, anticipation tinged with sadness at

the News of the passing of one of rugby's greats. Mervyn Davies. Merv

the Swerve. I'd like to think that the boys knew that he knew what it

took to win a Grand Slam. With Merv's attitude and passion for

playing and winning the game, he would have been touched, and

chuffed to think that he might have been mentioned in passing in the

changing room, in the team talk, or There was definitely a feeling in

Cardiff that day around the stadium that Wales were going to do it. It

wasn't even particularly nervous. It was excited, but not nervous.

There was absolute belief that Wales were going to win the Grand

Slam. I know we have won three times and the last eight years, and

it is getting a bit boring now, but it is amazing as a nation, and to

see everyone come together, not just in song and in uniform but

behind a sport that we are really Priestland, long, to Cuthbert!

Wales needed something special, there was some money to provide it.

And that somebody in this case was Alex Cuthbert, a lad who not so

long ago was looking at football for Gloucester City. And Wales

strike against France. A dislike to hurricane has blown through that

entire side of the French team. The trail of devastation left in his

wake, real cutting-edge stuff. Lee half penny extend the lead. The

Welsh players celebrate. Wales have won the Grand Slam. It is a second

for Warren Gatland, a third for Wales. What I loved about it was,

it was a meeting of two generations. You had Adam Jones and Gethin and

Ryan, doing the three-fingered salute. But the kids had arrived as

well. George North, Alex Cuthbert, Priestland. It was their win, too.

Another grand slam. Dan Lydiate, the player of the tournament. And

George North, our Gorgeous George. I think George's agent needs to get

on it engaged in some handsome man contract, representing some perfume

brand. I would like to sniff him. Wouldn't you? Welsh rugby had a new

pin up, but there was trouble for the old one. Gavin Haynes and has

apologised for his behaviour and drinking on the flight. Just five

months after signing for the region, his career is in the balance. His

drunken behaviour on board a flight... He was sacked by the

Cardiff blues. And Warren Gatland had a fall of his own. The Wales

coach Warren Gatland is to undergo surgery after falling from a

ladder... He fell off a ladder while cleaning the windows,

dropping three metres onto concrete, taking the full impact on his heels,

which both fractured. In the championship, Cardiff City were

suddenly banging the men from anywhere, and the commentators were

loving it. A huge shot from his own half! Absolutely unbelievable goal!

A six-game winning streak, and they were in the play-offs. Might they

be heading to Wembley again? In the way, Big Sam. Manager of milky

It is deflected in. It is a second for West Ham. And Cardiff are out

on their feet. Humbled at home, it would only get worse away. A chance

for Maynard. The icing on the cake for West Ham United. In football

terms, they didn't really turn up on that day, and sooner or later,

they are going to have to change their mind set in order to get over

that final hurdle. You have had small clubs like Barnsley and what

that and Swindon and Leyton Orient and Bradford City. They have all

been there. Cardiff, capital city, it is knuckling -- little short of

the disgrace. Newport County did walk up Wembley Way. They, too,

would come back empty-handed, losing to York City in the FA

Trophy. It is to to nil. Shattered dreams, but not here. At the start

of the Swansea season, a local journalist had said, there is more

chance of Elvis Presley coming back to life than Swansea City staying

in the Premier League. Brendan Rodgers brought that up before the

final game of the season, and urged all the fans to go out and put

Elvis out fits on. Swansea that day was wonderful. It was great fun,

and everybody from five-year-olds to 65-year-olds were dressed like

Elvis. I hope Brendan Rodgers # A little less conversation....

There would be a price. Liverpool, all shook up that day, had seen

their future. The King was about to leave the building. But anything

the Swans can do the Ospreys can do better. The rugby team who share

the Liverpool Stoke -- the Liberty Stadium were keen to show that they

were made of stern stuff. Steve Tandy was guiding them towards the

Pro12 play-offs. The run in included one of Shane's many final

games. You can't believe it! You just could not script it. He did it

in his final international for Wales against Australia, and he has

possibly done it again in his final game at the Liberty. Shane's game

again. There would be one more last game for shame at the Liberty,

He is too quick for O'Donnell. He is too quick for everybody. And

that is the try that should see the cost brace into the play-off finals.

They were struggling, but pick themselves up, and who would it be?

Shane Williams, but the tackle goes for the corner. Of course it was.

It had to be. This was made for shame. For the winning points,

somebody else had to lend a hand. What a comeback! They are the

The following week, Shane would play one more time, against his

beloved Wales. He was a barbarian. He wasn't the only Williams saying

goodbye. Martyn Williams, congratulations, 100 caps for Wales,

of what a legend. Williams against Winter sports were finished, but

football was still all over the news. Tonight, Swansea City and

looking for any manager for the third time in three seasons. We are

looking for a manager. Me and my wife, we couldn't stop crying. We

loved our life in Swansea. If I was a Swansea fan, I would feel

betrayed by Brendan Rodgers. But football is an industry, and I

doubt there are many managers who would say no to the opportunity of

managing Liverpool. In Cardiff, too, they were seeing red. For centuries,

they have been below and sported a blue bird logo, but now the MLA

Asian investors plan to give them a red strip and a dragon logo.

the new manager of the other raids poached an old boy, Joe Allen, to

Liverpool, for �15 million, whilst Craig Bellamy came home again to

Cardiff. And Swansea appointed the great Dane, Michael Laudrup, as

their manager. In athletics, Rees Williams became the 400 metres

hurdles European champion. I think he may well have booked his seat on

the British Olympic team as well as winning this European title. Summer

was here, and rugby had the chance to steal the limelight once again.

Wales would be heading Down Under, desperate to claim a southern

hemisphere scalp. Australia would Wales under-20s beat New Zealand in

the Junior World Cup in South Africa. Was this a new world order?

Could full Wales win in Oz? thought Six Nations champions, a

new sense of professionalism and ambition within the team. They

would go to Australia and would take advantage of a fairly depleted

wallaby team. In the absence of Warren Gatland, Robert Howley was

interim head coach. The first Test was close. Cuthbert gets the try

that Wales have been waiting for. It wasn't enough. First flood and

first Test to Australia. Midway through the second Test in

Melbourne, Wales again came to life. COMMENTATOR: They go for it.

Simmonds is not quick enough. John Davies gets the try for Wales. The

lead changed hands ten times. A last-minute penalty gave the

Wallabies the last word. COMMENTATOR: Players, fans,

everybody can hardly look at the sight. Mike Harris has a chance to

make a name for himself. Harris. Stabs at it. The fans cheer. It's

heartbreak. It's heartbreak for Wales. The cruelest losses are the

closest ones. I'd rather get smashed as a fan than lose by a

point or two. The same again in Sydney in the third Test. Wales

unable to protect a lead at the death. Just a point short. Wales

cannot get any closer. At the moment, cannot get the victory Down

Under still. When it happens three times on the spin, then, I think,

that raises worrying issues. Like, you know, mentality. Is there

something which prevents Wales from pushing on over the line against

the big teams? To come back there losing 3-0, I think that must have

been demoralising. But the pain of losing those three Tests to

Australia was nothing compared to the news which rocked Welsh sport

on the morning of June 18th. Police are investigating the death of the

Welsh cricketer Matthew Maynard in London. -- Tom Maynard in London.

got a phone call about Tom's massing -- passing. I couldn't

believe. It is it hit the dressing room very hard. Most of those lads

there grew up with him. He grew into a big, strong, strapping lad,

with bags of talent. He had the potential to go all the way. In

2011, Tom nofd Surrey, where he continued to flourish. -- moved to

Surrey where he continued to flourish. Surrey were used to

having a guy changing in that dressing room and all of a sudden

there was an empty sport. When Glamorgan visited Surrey later in

the summer, both teams wore his squad number on their shirts. 33

for Glamorgan, 55 for Surrey. Tom's father organised a bike ride from

Cardiff to the Oval and launched a cricket foundation in his son's

name. For however short a period of time he was in our dressing room,

it was a pleasure. Lovable lad. Destined for huge success. Sadly,

The British summer was one of the worst and wettest on record. The

Olympics were just around the corner, yet there remained a

certain cynicism about the Games. There was the debate about ticket

prices. There was the threat of terrorism. There were so many

questions to be answered. Was it worth all the money that we had

spent? Would we win any medals? Would the people of Wales ever feel

that British? But then something was ignited. The Olympic torch

began it is relay all around the land. All across Wales. We stopped

I turned down the chance to run with the torch because they said -

will you do it in Stoke-on-Trent? I said I can't. I don't know anybody.

There they wouldn't want a Welshy running around the streets with

torch. My mum and dad were like - what do you mean mean you turned

the torch down? It I was like - it's in Stoke. They were like,

could you have had a tracksuit and everything. Typical Welsh people.

The torch reached London, were Olympic doubts still lingered.

negativity that was obviously present leading up to the Games

stopped on the very nirst note of Danny -- first note of Danny

Boywyles -- Boywles' show. It was Good evening, Mr Bond. A nation

united, Welsh, British, where ever you where. As the week unfolded,

the first week of the Olympics, the rain cleared, the sun came out. All

of a sudden, it couldn't have gone any better. For once, it was quite

night to be a Welsh person being able to be in London. Usually I'm

like - I we shall I could be in Cardiff. For those two weeks it was

pretty nice to be in London in the middle of it all. Team GB's

goldrush had started. There was nothing yet for the Welsh

contingent. Then Chris Bartley in the Men's Lightweight Four.

COMMENTATOR: They are not going to do it. South Africa are Olympic

champions. Great Britain get the silver. In the Velodrome, more

Welshmen going for gold. Cycling is the British success story. Yet, the

Head of it, a Welsh speaking Australian. I love that fact.

Massive to get there. The atmosphere was incredible. The buzz

of the crowd was amazing. Especially, at home, in London, you

know all that is for you. It was just a massive, sort of, adrenaline

boost really. It was definitely a boost for morale. Could they

deliver in the Team Pursuit Final against the Aussies?

Now, the final four laps. The gap is beginning to stretch here. They

rinspierd. The crowd are lifting them. The -- are inspired. The

crowd are lifting them. The team shout instructions to each other.

No chance of doing that. You couldn't hear a thing.

COMMENTATOR: The gold medal is Great Britain's. Look at the time:

It's a new world record and Great Britain have won the Gold medal.

When we crossed the line there was a sense of, like, relief. After all

that build-up and all the talking and all the tension and stuff, to

finally go there and deliver the goods on the day was a massive

sense of achievement, but also, like I say, relief really. They

smashed the Australians. They absolutely smashed them. Smashed

the world record. Now, that is the kind of sporting event I want to

watch. My husband bought May bike to get fit. He is really into

cycling. Because he did so well, and he was Welsh. We had to cycle

everywhere. Whe to go to Tescos on the bike. We had to go to Cardiff

to work on the bike Saturday August 4th, Brits and Australians were set

to clash again for gold. The Men's Four.

COMMENTATOR: It's going to be great. It's going to be great. Tom James,

our rower from Wrexham. He had been there before. He knew what it took.

COMMENTATOR: Great Britain are going to be the Olympic champions

in the Men's Four. We have done. It we have done it. We have done it in

style. Great Britain, the Olympic champions, once more. A magnificent

effort. A fourth consecutive Olympic title for the British Men's

Four. A second Gold medal for Tom On the same day, other leading

Welsh competitors. Helen Jenkins, reigning World Champion in the

triathlon. Heartbreak for Helen Jenkins and the thousands in Hyde

Park watching her race. She has been dropped by the front four.

finished fifth. No athlete brought higher hopes to London than 400m

Hurdler, Dai Greene. Dai Greene going into the Olympics had won

everything. Commonwealth Champion, European Champion and the current

World Champion from last season. There was a lot of pressure on him.

The alarm bells rang for me after the semi-final. Not so much he ran

really badly. He scraped through as the fastest lower.

COMMENTATOR: Dai Greene, only fourth. All the Americans looked

strong. All of a sudden, in my mind, Dai had gone from favourite to all

of a sudden, he will have to run out of his socks to get a medal.

COMMENTATOR: Trying to get amongst the medals. Sanchez takes the gold

medal. He didn't get the Olympic medal. I know him as a person. That

will make him stronger and make him more hungry to rectify that. We

have the World Championships next season. He will want to defend that

title. At Wembley, Ryan Giggs captained Team GB's football side.

Lining up alongside Welsh players, Aaron Ramsey, Craig Bellamy and Joe

Allen. COMMENTATOR: Ryan Giggs. It's the

old man of the side who shows the young men how to do it. Goal, but

Thursday, 8th August. The Excel Arena, on the Thames. A teenager

from Flint in North Wales, in the 57kg Final of an unfamiliar sport.

Taekwondo. I can't spell. It I remember Jade Jones. That is karate.

Epitome of everything the Olympics is about for me, in that moment.

The commentators tried to explain how the point stim works. He say --

said "a kick in the head is worth three points. All of a sudden you

are like, "Kick her in the head." it's like a night nought Carmarthen.

In Wales we are so proud of our own. Jade is a perfect example of a

quiet girl from North Wales performing to the best of her

ability on the biggest stage of all, under that amount of pressure.

COMMENTATOR: Keep an eye on the fighters. Keep an eye on the clock.

You little beauty! A teenage kicking superstar from North Wales

It's just brilliant to watch and everyone, you know, everyone then

claims her as family. We are like "I know Jade really well", I have

never met her. You want it know her The moment she won that gold medal

and picked up both flags and ran around the arena, I thought, that

says everything. That is a symbol of what I feel about Wales and the

Olympics. She is an incredible role model. Watching her, it wasn't Tony

that Wales had won gold, it was more, go, girl! You are 19, you

have won gold, and you still look attractive and girly, which is

lovely. The final weekend of the Games, a silver for boxer Fred

Evans. A silver for sale are Hannah males. And a bronze for Sarah

Thomas. And then, after a fortnight of fables, the Olympics were

closing. They had stopped us in our Only to reopen with a flourish at

the Paralympics, two weeks later. With Welsh swimmer Liz Johnson a

gold medallist in Beijing, reading the pledge on behalf of 4,000

athletes. I promise that we will take part in these Paralympic Games

in the true sportsmanship and honour for our sport and teams.

This was the Paralympics that really brought elite disabled sport

into the mainstream. I got a phone call saying, would you like to be

involved in the Paralympic opening ceremony, and when they said to me

they wanted me to be 20 metres in the air on a zip wire in my racing

chair, I probably thought that wasn't such a good idea. It was

amazing. It was scary, terrifying, and I would never do it ever again,

flying over the athletes faces as they are sitting there, going... It

was worth it, but it was the longest three minutes of my life.

Barely three years after breaking his back in a paragliding accident,

Mark Colbourne was the first Briton to win a Paralympic medal in London,

a silver. The next day, he raced in the one kilometre pursued. And its

goal! What a performance. NDS, the world record has gone, too. To come

across the line and looked up and see the time board saying, new

world record, and to break it by 0.1 of a second, was just an

amazing moment in time, it really was. I look back over the last 12

months will think, that guy has done quite a lot, and then I think,

it is me. It is quite surreal. would win one more silver. Could

other Welsh Paralympians follow his lead? On the day he won his first

medal, swim and Nyree Kindred at her 4th games won her 10th medal.

In track-and-field, Josie Pearson won gold in the discus. A great

Frow, that will be tough to beat. That evening, a Swansea-based

schoolgirl took to the pool. Ellie Simmonds had been the darling of

the Beijing Games. Now she was swimming at home, where she won two

gold, silver and bronze. Her father said, my girl has made the world

stop and think. Before the Paralympics, it has always been the

ugly sister to the Olympics. Two weeks after the Olympics, this

little event comes along, a few people in the crowd. It has changed.

All of a sudden, our Paralympians are superstars. Aled Sion Davies,

at 21-year-old student who had come third in the shot put, is an

example. I wanted to get a medal, but to take a gold in London was a

dream. Now we decided to become really famous. This whole crowd has

come out to support me. I am going to put so much into this road, even

if it hurts me. And I put in one of the hugest throws I have ever done

in my life. And that is a monster of a throw. Just look what it means

to him. I just remember crying, screaming. I ran out and jumped in

the air, I was blowing kisses to the crowd. The site Aled Sion

Davies winning his discus gold, doing a lap of honour, and having a

cuddle from his mum. And she wiped his cheek. That can only happen

with a Welsh mum! Inspire a generation was the motto. The

instruction for London 2012. Had the order been obeyed? I think a

really huge moment for me was when a young girl, about five years old,

a double amputee, walking through the park wearing prosthetic legs,

and shorts, and her mum said she used to prefer to be pushed around

in a pram rather than the wheelchair because she would rather

be seen to be a baby then someone who was an amputee. And the games

had given her the confidence to walk around on her legs in a pair

of shorts, and she couldn't decide whether she wanted to be Oscar

Pistorius or Jonnie Peacock. And that is amazing. That the sport has

changed people's view of the world. The Golden Globes struggle this

season and the sport. Swansea started their second season

in the Premier League away at QPR, A wonderful finish! Meanwhile,

Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool, they were losing 3-0. Should have stayed

put, Brendan! Cardiff City, free- scoring in blue and even in red.

Welcome back, Craig. Jamie Donaldson one over a million

dollars, broke into the world's top 50, and won his first European Tour

title, the Irish Open. Not even Robert Croft can go on for ever.

After 23 years would Glamorgan, he But this summer sporting love would

have to end soon, and it was our international football team who

seemed to be struggling the most with the weight of expectation. A

New World Cup qualifying campaign loomed. This was meant to be a

golden generation. Arran Ramsey, Gareth Bale, a new dawn for watch

football. A new era. 7th September, Chris Coleman's

first competitive match in charge. Three defeats in Friendly's could

be forgiven if the World Cup campaign began with a win over

Belgium. And a red card. It is a red card for Collins. And it is a

second. Wales are off to a poor start. It is the worst possible

start, isn't it, Robbie? Not good enough. Four days later, more

suffering. A thumping 6-1 loss of weight to Serbia. But there was one

shining light. Gareth Bale with a sensational strike. If the players

make mistakes but give their best, there is nothing you can say about

that. What I don't forgive easily is when players don't turn up.

Cardiff came Scotland. Another head-on by Fletcher. This is a

chance to score. One goal down, who might save them now? And Gareth

Bale, penalty for Wales! The hopes of a nation rest on their most

glittering talent of a golden generation. Scores for Wales!

Gareth Bale again. Two minutes to go. What a goal and! What a

fantastic strike. Be it was amazing. I hadn't scored the winner for my

country before, and it was an unbelievable feeling. Hopefully

there is many more to come. I have watched him now for a few years, a

year on year, he seems to be getting better and better and

better. If he stays in the Premiership, and went To Say Man

Utd, he could become one of the best ever. Five days later, Wales

and waterlogged Croatia Bont Dan and bizarre. Anthony Williams back

pass place them into trouble, and the loose ball is played in.

Another campaign in ruins. Are you confident that you are still the

man to take Wales forward in the campaign? More confident than one

or two of you lot. October was a good month for Wales's endurance

athletes. Leander Cave won the Ironman World Championships in

Hawaii. And Non Stanford won the World Under 23 triathlon title in

New Zealand. In the Heineken Cup, seven losses in the first eight

games for our region's was not the best preparation for the autumn

series. Four weeks, four matches. The giants of the southern

hemisphere, Australia and New # This is the end. # Hold your

He is going to go all the way for the try! An unexpected pummelling

Rob Howley's Wales, bruised and beaten. It was a step backwards. We

have to dust ourselves off and come back better men next week. Next up,

Playing as Samoa do, hard and on the edge. And often startlingly

And he gets over in the corner. Lee half penny cannot get there. It

looks like he got the touch. Grand Slam Wiles, outscored, out of sorts.

Five losses on the bounce, two dismal performances. We were hoping

Argentina was a blip. If you had asked anybody, you would have said,

we should beat Argentina, we should beat Samoa. The series would grow

no easier. Next, only the world And from throat slitting to head

clubbing, this was losing the Conrad Smith, and Liam Essen.

there are worse ways to lose. In fact, from defeat came

encouragement. And they have scored. It no, it was a tough day. The

And what are we got next? Australia! Yes, we can beat

Australia. Until the 82nd minute. Don't take the extra yard, don't

put your hand in. Barnes, and again Australia work the overlap. It is

going to be a try. And Wales have done it again. We lose again in the

last minute. What is going on? It was just the most peculiar ending,

seeing them so dejected under the posts. That is when you feel for

them, because players feel the loss more than anyone else. The bad news,

Wales out of the top eight in the world. The good news, in the same

World Cup group as England. Across the pond, box and Nathan

Cleverly trying to make it in America. With a little help from

his new celebrity friends. Is that Mickey Rourke? We just met at a

bus-stop! Joe Calzaghe told me In his corner, another Holyrood

heavyweight. Those body punches, especially, they were much more

Nathan defended his world title for the fourth time. He did a great job,

and he never lost his cool. He seemed to me like a very cool

fighter. He has a game-plan, and he As winter arrived, our soccer sides

steamed ahead. A2 to nil win over Arsenal catapulted Swansea City

And we ins over Liverpool and Middlesbrough earned this one's a

place in the League Cup semi-final. And Swansea City are into the semi-

finals of the Capital One Cup. wins on the trot for Cardiff City

took them to the heights of the championship. 2013 looks promising

for our two top football teams. Finally, at the BBC Wales Sports

personality of the year awards, Lynn Davies was given a lifetime

achievement. Wales won the team award, and Jade Jones, a beautiful