Welsh actor Michael Sheen has been praised for a thunderous rallying call he gave on the panel of sports quiz programme A League of Their Own.
The Damned United star was asked to deliver a motivational speech for Robert Page’s Wales national football team, ahead of their World Cup clash with England.
Few were expecting what followed, however, with Sheen throwing himself completely into the task.
“I hear the voices singing. Speed your journey, bois bach [good heavens],” he said. “One nation, singing with one voice, a song of hope, a song of courage. A victory song that floats through the valleys, like a red mist, rolls over the mountain tops, like crimson thunder.
“A red storm is coming to the gates of Qatar. It crackles, with the spirit of ‘58 and Jimmy Murphy’s boys. It turns the pages of the history books and finds Rob’s page, waiting, still to be written. What would you right in there, boys? Dare you write your names on that page? We haven’t waited 64 years and come half way around the world to be troubled by a neighbour from back home.”
He continued: “When the English coming knock on our door, let‘s give them some sugar, boys, let’s give them some Welsh sugar. They’ve always said we are too small, we are too slow, we are too weak, too full of fear. But yma o hyd [“Still Here”], you sons of Speed, and they fall around us. We are still here.”
The reaction in the studio was overwhelmed, with series host Romesh Ranganathan exclaiming: “Wow. I have never felt more Welsh!”
The video can be watched here:
On social media, viewers also shared their astonishment at Sheen’s impassioned delivery.
“ MICHAEL SHEEN is truly MAGNIFICENT. Get a LOAD of THIS,” actor Michael Warburton wrote.
“I didn’t think I’ve ever say this…… but I am now Welsh,” joked podcaster Michael Coates.
“If the @FAWales don’t appoint @michaelsheen as assistant coach with responsibility for speeches at the World Cup then they’ve missed a massive opportunity,” wrote journalist David Owens. “This is insane and I now want to run through a wall.”
“I don’t think you can win an Oscar for something you’ve done on a British game show, but maybe Michael Sheen should,” one person commented.
The World Cup will take place in Qatar this winter.
A League of Their Own airs on Thursdays on Sky and streaming service NOW.
