Gis for Ghosts and Grand Slams!

G is for Ghosts and Grand Slams!

A day remembering those no longer with us and celebrating the future and now!

Back in the 80s and 90s when I was growing up, it's safe to say that Welsh rugby was in the doldrums, except for some blips in 87 and 94, and the ghosts of the past, the 70s, weighed heavily on Welsh rugby. I never thought I'd get to see a Grand Slam, but the World Cup in 2003 saw Wales set the tournament alight with tremendous games against the All Blacks and eventual winners England. Hope turned into ecstatic delight in 2005 when my dream of witnessing a Grand Slam came true, and as Max Boyce would say, I was there.

And then just like that the dark days returned, Ruddockgate and Fiji in Rugby World Cup 2007, and then new hope again as Warren Gatland brings a Grand Slam in 2008 in his first year in charge, and just like that a nation is lifted and I was there. And then disappointment returns again, before World Cup 2011 lifts us to dreamland only for a red card to dash our dreams.

Today we returned to the top of European rugby as we clinched our third Grand Slam in eight years, a feat that repeated the exploits of the 70s team. And now here we are again comparing this team with that of the 70s. Why? Why burden this team with comparisons? Hell, you could even argue the games aren't even the same anymore. Let them write their own history!