In the space of a few days last month, two games were held a mile apart in Cardiff. The first was the concluding episode of the Six Nations tournament, the second a crucial World Cup football qualifier. Beyond jubilation and disappointment, the occasions exposed the gulf between the two most popular sports in Wales: the former highlighting the crisis of datedness that has engulfed rugby, the latter demonstrating why football has gone on to reflect a more confident, vibrant and relevant Welsh identity. The age-old debate of what is Wales’ national sport has never been so easy to settle.
Gareth Bale’s talismanic triumph over Austria was a stark contrast to the lethargic response of the Welsh XV to the Italians, who overcame the embarrassing hubris that had seeped into a Wales team too busy basking in the glory of milestone caps for Alun Wyn Jones and Dan Biggar.
Was this a sign that rugby is no longer the apogee of Welsh sport? True, the martyred Welsh rugby team of the 1970s – including Gareth Edwards, Barry John & Gerald Davies – ran and passed with elegance, tackled with might and scored sensationally.
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