Nobody Beats Us
The Inside Story of the 1970s Wales Rugby Team
David Tossell
- In
- the
- 1970s,
- an
- age
- long
- before
- World
- Cups,
- rugby
- union
- to
- the
- British
- public
- meant
- Bill
- McLaren,
- rude
- songs
- and,
- most
- of
- all,
- Wales.
- Between
- 1969
- and
- 1979,
- the
- men
- in
- red
- shirts
- won
- or
- shared
- eight
- Five
- Nations
- Championships,
- including
- three
- Grand
- Slams
- and
- six
- Triple
- Crowns.
- But
- the
- mere
- facts
- resonate
- less
- than
- the
- enduring
- images
- of
- the
- precision
- of
- Gareth
- Edwards,
- the
- sublime
- touch
- of
- Barry
- John,
- the
- sidesteps
- of
- Gerald
- Davies
- and
- Phil
- Bennett,
- the
- courage
- of
- J.P.R.
- Williams,
- and
- the
- forward
- power
- of
- the
- Pontypool
- Front
- Row
- and
- 'Merv
- the
- Swerve'
- Davies.To
- the
- land
- of
- their
- fathers,
- these
- Welsh
- heroes
- represented
- pride
- and
- conquest
- at
- a
- time
- when
- the
- decline
- of
- the
- province's
- traditional
- coal
- and
- steel
- industries
- was
- sending
- thousands
- to
- the
- dole
- queue
- and
- threatening
- the
- fabric
- of
- local
- communities.
- Yet
- the
- achievements
- of
- those
- players
- transcended
- their
- homeland
- and
- extended
- beyond
- mere
- rugby
- fans.
- With
- the
- help
- of
- comedian
- Max
- Boyce,
- the
- culture
- of
- Welsh
- rugby
- and
- valley
- life
- permeated
- Britain's
- living
- rooms
- at
- the
- height
- of
- prime
- time,
- reinforcing
- the
- sporting
- brilliance
- that
- lit
- up
- winter
- Saturday
- afternoons.In
- Nobody
- Beats
- Us,
- David
- Tossell,
- who
- spent
- the
- '70s
- as
- a
- schoolboy
- scrum-half
- trying
- to
- perfect
- the
- Gareth
- Edwards
- reverse
- pass,
- interviews
- many
- of
- the
- key
- figures
- of
- a
- golden
- age
- of
- Welsh
- rugby
- and
- vividly
- recreates
- an
- unforgettable
- sporting era.
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