County's no1 proud Wales rugby fan says 'I was there' (From Western Telegraph)

County's no1 proud Wales rugby fan says 'I was there'

AS Wales unbelievably clinched the Grand Slam for the first time in 27 years at Cardiff on Saturday, Pembrokeshire's No1 Welsh rugby fanatic Michael Ridley was there, and he was also there the last time they achieved it in 1978.

It was popular Welsh comedian and singer Max Boyce who spoke those immortal words "I was there," when performing on stage and reminiscing about the Welsh rugby glory years of the 1970s.

Well, Michael Ridley, is one of those extremely rare characters who has incredibly watched the highs and lows of Welsh rugby over the past 42 years.

Brought up in Pembroke Dock, Michael is also a keen Pembroke Dock Harlequins fan. He now lives in Haverfordwest, and at last Saturday's crunch Grand Slam victory, the true Welsh rugby fan was amazingly making his 210th appearance watching the boyos in red.

Michael began following Wales' rugby fortunes both home and away from as early as 1963. He did miss the 9-9 draw with Ireland at Lansdowne Road in 1974 but incredibly he hasn't missed a Five or Six Nations international involving Wales since.

Obviously, Saturday's glorious Grand Slam, Triple Crown and Championship win over Ireland will go down as one of the highlights in Michael's incredible 42 years of viewing.

But the best game that Michael remembers watching over that long period is Wales' then record 21-9 win over England, at Twickenham in 1976.

"The Wales team of that era played some of the best stuff I've ever watched. "Gareth Edwards was definitely the best player I've ever seen, he was the catalyst of that great team."

Michael was equally certain about the lowest point for Wales: "Oh those dreadful hammerings we took from England at Twickenham in the late '90s.

"Coming away from Twickenham I felt like crying, as the English supporters had big smug grins spread across their faces."

Ending on a perfect note, Michael, had plenty to cheer about on Saturday, and so did the whole of the country's workforce who were probably rather hungover after a weekend of hard partying.

Most reluctantly returned to work on Monday morning to once again gloat about a brilliant Wales rugby team.

The class of '78 will always be remembered, but the class of '05 will also live long in the memory of every patriotic Welsh rugby supporter.

Well done Wales!