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LOT 13 1977/78 Wales | Sir Gareth Edwards
International Rugby Union jersey match-worn by Sir Gareth Edwards
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Jersey & Provenance
Jersey in excellent original condition. Bears manufacturer label with Umbro in orange diamond and ‘The Choice of Champions’, complete with original buttons, No.9, embroidered Prince of Wales feathers.
Provenance: the personal collection of Sir Gareth Edwards CBE & family.
Sir Gareth’s final match signalled a steady decline for Welsh rugby fortunes, they were not to win another Grand Slam for 27 years.
Sir Gareth won 53 caps for Wales, scoring 88 points including 20 tries. His win percentage with Wales was a superb 70% with 35 matches won, five drawn and 13 lost.
Sir Gareth Recalls
On the 18th of March 1978, ‘The Greatest Ever’ took to the pitch for his country for the final time – in front of a capacity crowd of 60,000 on his home turf at Cardiff Arms Park. Fittingly the match was against the French, who had beaten Wales when Sir Gareth won his first cap. This time Wales would win with two tries and a conversion from Phil Bennett, a drop goal from Steve Fenwick and another from Gareth Edwards.
The victory sealed the Grand Slam for Wales, Sir Gareth’s third, in what was the ‘golden era’ of Welsh rugby. It meant that Wales became outright Five Nations champion for 1978. During Sir Gareth’s tenure at scrum half for Wales, they had won the Championship outright five times and were joint champions twice. Prior to 1971, Wales had not won a Grand Slam since 1952.
‘What brought us together (the Welsh team of the 1970s), fuelled our collective desire and made us the team we were was a love for the game. We were young kids who just adored what we were doing and reveled in the thrill of it all. The players in those Welsh teams had the confidence, the attitude, the belief but more than that, we loved being out there playing the game. Like good actors, the players were all comfortable with one another. There was a serious attitude when required, but it was more like a family going out to play together. That was how close we became. We all knew one another and cared for each other so that we never went out just thinking we’ve got to win this to achieve another Grand Slam or Triple Crown or Championship title. It went deeper than that for us’.
Estimate: £5000-10000
