We’re in the middle of the annual Six Nations rugby championship, with a critical programme of matches this weekend. Working in Wales during my St Briavels days and playing rugby in Scotland where I once lived, I became aware of the intense rivalry that my work colleagues in both countries felt against England during the Five Nations Championship. Wales dominated European rugby. England were not very good.

At Cardiff Arms Park (as it was called in the 1970s, before it changed its name to the Millennium, then the Principality Stadium) I watched Wales – England matches surrounded by Welsh supporters who were not hostile but even worse, insufferably patronising about the English losers. I would joke about the Sunday invasion of Welsh visitors to Forest pubs on Sundays, to escape from the country that then suffered ‘Dry Sundays’ when pubs had to close, but the Welsh supporters won that argument. I had to concede that a great national rugby team and a ‘Dry Sunday’ were better than a poor national rugby team and a ‘Wet Sunday’. My Scottish colleagues were not so patronising, as Scottish rugby was not quite at the level of Wales, but they expressed, in the nicest possible way, their special joy at a victory against England.

Welsh club rugby was particularly strong in those days, with Cardiff, Llanelli, Newport (who beat the great All Blacks in the 1960s) and Pontypool (with its world class front row, celebrated in song by Max Boyce), capable of beating any side in the world.

The ‘Barbarians’ are an occasional team composed from the best players in the 4 home countries. Iin a classic match against New Zealand in 1973 the Barbarians were dominated by players from Wales. This match featured what is generally considered the best try ever scored, universally known as THAT try, which developed from deep defence by Phil Bennett and JPR Williams before Gareth Edwards finished off the 80 metre attack with a 5 metre dive over the line to secure the epic try that has entered rugby history. I might add that these three Welsh rugby legends generously allowed the English hooker, Gloucestershire’s John Pullin, to have a brief role in developing the try.

After the glory days of the 1970s, it is genuinely sad to see Wales and its clubs struggling. The rugby world needs a strong Wales, not the sad side that has recently lost to that hotbed of rugby, Italy.