It’s maybe the most famous Welsh rugby speech of them all — a true fire and brimstone effort, the words of which have even been splashed across the front of T-shirts.
Phil Bennett delivered the address in 1977.
It was before Wales played England in Cardiff.
The legendary fly-half, who has passed away aged 73 after battling a long illness, was skippering a side who were chasing a Five Nations Triple Crown, with England the second hurdle to be cleared.
Read more: Wales international and fiancee announce baby news with a photo
Just before the players took the field at the old National Stadium, Benny gathered his side together and began channelling his inner Owain Glyndwr.
The team-talk to Gareth Edwards, Gerald Davies, JPR Williams, Graham Price, JJ Williams and Co is said to have gone thus: “Look at what these b******s have done to Wales. They've taken our coal, our water, our steel. They buy our houses and live in them for a fortnight every 12 months. And what have they given us? Absolutely nothing. We've been exploited, raped, controlled and punished by the English — and we're playing them this afternoon."
Here's the thing: the great man had loads of English friends from his time in rugby. But he was speaking before a Wales-England game in Cardiff and the need, perhaps, was for a few words dipped in passion.
Did his oratory that day really go that way? Phil, for whom this writer ghosted a column for around 20 years, was never quite sure. Once, he even said he’d asked one of his old team-mates if he’d actually used the words attributed to him. But a few years ago, when I tried to nail him down on the matter, he seemed happier to own the content, laughing: “The players seem to remember it that way.
“I had been reading something in the week before about a Welsh village that had been flooded to provide water for places in England.
“I suppose it stuck in my mind.
“I definitely remember wondering beforehand how I could fire up players like Gareth Edwards, JPR Williams and Gerald Davies, men who had seen it all before. So I said a few words that a lot of people seem to remember.”
He added, tongue possibly in cheek: “At one point Gareth, a keen fisherman, seemed to be drifting a bit so I mentioned the English were even taking over our fishing waters. That stirred him!”
Doubtless, Benny used that line in the after-dinner speeches he used to give after finishing as a player.
He will forever be remembered for his twinkle-toed genius, of course.
But he could also do passion before big games with the best of them.
And he also wanted Wales to perform for supporters, once recalling that before the match with Scotland in 1977, which clinched the Triple Crown, he had stood on the balcony of the North Hotel, watching a sea of red supporters flowing down Princes Street. A lot of them didn’t have tickets and some of them might not have had jobs but they’d travelled up to watch Wales play, thought Benny. Players even worked with some of the travelling fans.
Later, Wales’ captain that day told team-mates: “Boys, we have to win it for these people.”
He said many years later: “We may have been heroes to many, but the reality was we were all Welsh people.”
It was the speech before the England game that’s most remembered, though.
History shows Wales duly went out and got the job done, as well, winning 14-9, with Edwards and JPR Williams scoring tries. But it was the speech beforehand that became the big talking point.
Even on day when he didn't get on the scoresheet himself, the little maestro still left a mark.
