Rob Page says he "wells up" every time he hears Michael Sheen's stirring speech about the Wales football team.
Iconic Welsh actor Sheen, who has starred in films such as Twilight and Frost/Nixon, appeared on the popular Sky sports-comedy panel show A League of Their Own on Thursday night and was asked to give the audience a taste of what his pre-match speech would be to the Welsh players ahead of their clash with England, which is set to take place on November 29.
The reaction to that video, which you can watch in full here, has been seismic across Wales. And, as you would expect, it has permeated its way into the Wales camp.
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Page knew something big had happened when his phone started blowing up on his way back to Sheffield from a meeting in Cardiff. It's safe to say, the clip has made quite the impression on the Wales manager.
"It's outstanding. Outstanding. 'Give them some sugar!' It's fantastic. I well up every time I watch it," Page said of the viral Sheen video.
"I had been in a meeting in Cardiff and I was driving on my way back up north and my phone was going mad, so I knew something significant had happened. Wow. Very emotional."
That leads to the obvious question, of course, will Sheen be receiving an invite to the Wales camp ahead of the World Cup?
"Absolutely," Page replied. "He is coming to the first game with me!"
"I’ve already had messages from the players … they want to get him in straightaway.
"When I watched it, I was in awe of it, it was unbelievable. I’ve had some great reaction from the players and the staff. When you’ve got the passion to do that, we’ve got to use it to our benefit, absolutely. "
Page is a great admirer of Sheen's catalogue of work and, if the speech is anything to go by, the feeling is reciprocal. Page was speaking following the announcement of a new four-year contract as Wales boss, a more than worthy reward for the sterling work he has done since Ryan Giggs' arrest in November 2020.
Page has led his country to promotion in the Nations League and guided the Red Dragons through their Euro 2020 campaign. Importantly, he also oversaw Wales' first World Cup qualification since 1958 earlier this year.
The Wales boss believes the speech is just a microcosm of the feeling surrounding Welsh football at the minute. The culture, the environment and the atmosphere are all embodied in those two minutes of pure TV gold.
When asked if he'd met Sheen, Page replied: "No, I haven’t but I’d like to, absolutely. What he has done … Welsh football is in a good place at the moment. I’ve had pals that live in England going: ‘Wow, to be Welsh [must] be unbelievable.’
"They are watching our games going: ‘Why can’t we have that?’ It’s incredible, the atmosphere that we’ve got, that link we’ve got between supporters and the songs. I’ve got friends in England going: ‘I’d rather watch your games.’"
Page has not yet reached out to Sheen, but it's on his to-do list. He wants to thank him for shooting this team even further into the spotlight ahead of their first World Cup campaign in 64 years.
"Personally I want to thank him for doing that. I do," he added. "I want to let him know that I appreciate what he’s done there. Because we’re on the map but he’s taken it to another level for us."
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