Boxing, athletics, rugby, and of course football. Gavin J. Woodward looks back at an unforgettable year for Welsh sport.
Many people outside of the UK and especially Europe aren’t too familiar with the beautiful little country that is Wales. We mention Anthony Hopkins, Tom Jones and Gareth Bale in a bid to gain some sort of recognition of our land—if that fails we grit our teeth our teeth and are forced to say it’s the small country beside England. However, those familiar with the Welsh will know of our affinity to sheep, a certain oval shaped ball sport and our powerful singing ability. Why are the Welsh acclaimed for their skill to hit a note? There must reasonable explanation somewhere but simply: we have had many monumental moments to sing about in recent years, most notably in the sporting world.
After such an impressive year previously with cyclist Geraint Thomas MBE taking the prize of BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year and the Welsh commonwealth game team achieving their all-time largest hauls of medal (36) in Glasgow, we had a tall order to follow. However, the winning ways of the Welsh didn’t stop there and 2015 will go down as one of the most memorable sporting years in Welsh history. So let’s recap some of heroes that got us out of our seats and sing Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.
Starting with the reigning Welsh sports personality of the year, Geraint Thomas MBE, the Cardiff born Welshman took 2015 by storm with five podium finishes out of seven competitions, including three 1st placed competition wins. Thomas may not have received the same attention that he did for his gold medals at the 2012 Olympics or the 2014 commonwealth games, but there’s no questioning the ability of the Welsh cyclist.
Last year young hurdling athlete David Omoregie (20) was tipped to go onto great things after becoming a World Junior Championships bronze medallist and Omoregie delivered. At the European Athletics U23 Championships, the Cardiff born athlete recorded a 1st place finish and told reporters, “This is so big – it’s the first time I’ve won! I hope I can look back on this in a few years and say that was the point when I became a great competitor.” Well, having been named the Welsh Track & Field Athlete of the Year, we are expecting Omoregie to leap ahead of his competitors in 2016 and make a name of himself at the European Athletics Championships Amsterdam 2016.
Welsh boxers have conquered many international canvases in the last century, proudly waving the red dragon flag and on the 30th May, Barry born boxer, Lee Selby followed in the greatest of many Welsh boxers before him, becoming the IBF featherweight champion and Wales’ 12th world champion of all time. Lee Selby has yet to lose a 12 round bout and has an impressive record of 22 wins (23 fights) with one loss in a meagre four round fight back in 2009. Many British fighters have failed to prove themselves in America and having defended his titled across the North Atlantic Ocean, Selby will look to defend his title for a second time in 2016.
Rugby is the sport that truly captures the hearts of the Welsh and in the biggest sporting event of the year, the 2015 Rugby World cup was hosted by the English—well, with a little help from the Welsh Millennium Stadium. The stage was set and things weren’t looking good for the boys in red. Injuries plagued the team, star man Leigh Halfpenny was out and Wales were facing one of the most challenging qualifying groups in rugby history (England, Australia and Fiji—oh and Uruguay.)
The game that’ll stick with us is the famous 25-28 victory over England in their own backyard. The English were beaten and on the brink of exiting their own tournament with Australia on the way, whilst the Welsh celebrated a new found new national hero, Dan Bigger. Wales weren’t able to kick on past the quarter finals, losing to South Africa 23–19 but did it matter? No, not when we progressed further than the English and were the cause of Mike Brown’s sulking on live TV.
But the sporting stars of the year had to be the Welsh national football team. You have to go back to 1958 since the last time the Welsh national team qualified for a major tournament and the boys have finally broken the duck securing a place in the UEFA Euro 2016. Wales were led brilliant by the colossus Ashley Williams who helped protect the Welsh defence, conceding the least amount of goals in the group (4). With Gareth Bale’s world class left peg, the Welsh were able to gain automatic qualification, finishing second in the group and the country has a lot to look forward to.
Chris Coleman’s men are no longing the wiping boys for Cyprus and Finland anymore—no, this team were ranked in the top 10 international teams (ahead of England) and go into the competition full of confidence. So bring on 2016. The Welsh are coming, ‘Together. Stronger.’
Gavin’s top 3 Welsh sporting moments of 2015:
1. Dan Biggar’s 75th min penalty v England
2. Gareth Bale’s winning goal v Belgium
3. ‘THE BIGGARENA’
Geraint Thomas, Info: www.geraintthomas.org; David Omoregie, Info: www.thepowerof10.info; Lee Selby, Info: www.boxrec.com; Wales Rugby Team, Info: www.wru.co.uk; Wales Football Team, Info: www.faw.org.uk
photos JON CANDY, STEVE WATKINS