The original Gareth Edwards!
Finally….. I hear you say… we get to the rugby!
We are now back in early 1970 and just before our move to the Danygraig Arms on the Broadway. Dad had already made the switch from giants of the Mabinogion to the giants of Welsh rugby by basically putting rugby shirts on some Groggy looking characters. These weren’t based on anyone in particular but they got the reaction Dad was hoping for.
On January 24th 1970 Wales hosted the touring Springboks on a filthy day at the newly emerging National Stadium in Cardiff. Wales had never beaten South Africa but under their youthful captain Gareth Edwards and in appalling conditions Wales came close by drawing the match 6 all.
Gareth scored twice in the match, once from a penalty and with a late try but unfortunately his conversion of his own try went wide. People may find it strange that Gareth was the kicker that day, but I have it on good authority that players just took turns back then….no specialist goalkickers as we have today. It’s even more surprising that Barry John was playing that day but left the kicking to his Cardiff half back partner and captain. My father was so inspired by the young Captains efforts that he decided to make a figure of Gareth kicking at goal.
This is a wonderful piece and we are so lucky to have been able to bring it back to the Groggshop where it inspired so much that was to follow. For me it has everything, even though Dad made some basic errors they don’t detract from the drama of the figure at all and, to me, they only add to its appeal. You may notice the white cuffs and complete lack of socks but the look of determination on Gareth’s face says it all.
The figure is hand built using the buff stoneware Dad adopted from that point on. He has glazed the collar, shorts, cuffs and boot laces but the red is acrylic paint. Dad had tried many times to find a red glaze, but the results were always disappointing, coming out at best a pale amber. He knew how important the red of the Welsh shirt was and made the switch to acrylic paint which became synonymous with Welsh Rugby Groggs from that point on.
I particularly love the three feathers on Gareth’s shirt which were made using a leaf pattern pastry mould “borrowed“ from the College of food technology in Cardiff where Dad had worked for a while. Dad has also made the shirt muddy in places to reflect the awful weather the match was played in that day, something we didn’t do again until I made the 16” George Best many years later.
So, this magnificent figure is where it all began for Groggs and their special connection with Welsh Rugby which still continues to this day.
On the 18th of January 1975, three Welsh forwards made history by becoming the first club front row to represent their country as a unit. They would go on to become legends in the sport and the name “The Pontypool Front Row” would inspire fear and respect in rugby nations around the world….. it still does to this day.
The 70s began well with Wales winning a Grand Slam in 1971 and only missing out on a possible back to back Grand Slam when the Irish game was cancelled in 1972. From that point on Wales’s fortunes varied widely, despite Welsh players contributing strongly to the unbeaten British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa in 1974.
In 1975, Wales’s selectors made the bold decision to cap six new players away from home, in the cauldron of Parc des Princes, Paris. It proved to be an inspired call as Wales went on to register a remarkable win, consigning France to their heaviest home defeat since 1952. At the forefront of that unforgettable victory was the Pontypool Front Row.
Bobby Windsor was well established having already been capped by Wales in 1973 against the Wallabies and then earning his Lion’s caps as the test hooker in South Africa. In Wales, with his Pontypool team mates Charlie Faulkner and Graham Price either side of him, they developed a platform which ensured the quality ball Wales’s great backs of the 70s era needed to shine. Saying that, it was the young tight-head Graham Price who finished the scoring that momentous day in Paris, running 70 yards to follow up his own kick out of defence which resulted in a magnificent try!
Wales missed out on a Grand Slam that season, with a single, narrow defeat to Scotland, but with the Pontypool Front Row leading the charge, they went on to win two Grand Slams in 1976 and 1978 and many Triple Crowns. These victories ensured the seventies would be remembered forever as the “Decade of the Dragon”.
As a young Grogg maker it was an enthralling time to be involved in Welsh rugby. In 1976 the decision was made for me to leave school and join my father in his studio on the Broadway. Dad had been making rugby figures since the early 1970’s but I was hot on his heels, as I loved capturing the features of my heroes in clay. I was soon handed that role on a permanent basis and with it came the unique task of sculpting three faces in one piece – the Pontypool Front Row posed a new and exciting technical challenge for me.
Dad’s front row was the 1971 Grand Slam unit of Denzil Williams, Jeff Young and Barry Llewellyn. I was lucky to have the inspiration of my Pontypool heroes and took on the task with gusto and to be honest, they were born to be Grogged. I loved making them with their distinctive characteristics, but together I think they are the greatest of Grogg pieces.
So once again I’ve had the pleasure of modelling this legendary trio to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of their first game together for Wales. And while we have struggled to think of a subject which encompasses 60 years of our history at the Groggshop maybe it is appropriate that this phenomenal triumvirate becomes part of our double celebration, having been there with us, almost since our very beginnings.
50 years of The Viet Gwent and 60 years of Groggs – Coming Soon.
