Wales internationals Josh Adams and Alex Mann joined WRU special advisor Peter Owens, a heritage expert, for a unique event at Principality Stadium on Wednesday to mark National Sporting Heritage day.
At the event, Adams and Mann were shown a selection of iconic items from the Welsh rugby archive that linked to the men’s national squad’s history against the opposition Steve Tandy’s side will play this autumn.
The players and media in attendance were also given a special presentation by Owens about all the incredible history behind each item on display, which included a selection of jerseys, caps, match programmes, trophies and even a didgeridoo.
Wales face Japan, New Zealand and Australia on consecutive Saturdays in November with tickets available now via wru.wales/tickets
“It’s been really interesting listening to the stories, said Adams, “we don’t get to see a lot of the history that’s in the stadium. So to listen to what’s happened before us and the stories behind them is really nice.
“You go to any club in Wales and there’s a lot of jerseys up that show the history of the players that have played for that club. It’s important to have that and myself, a boy who comes from Hendy, it’s important for me to represent my club the right way.”
“It was very interesting, very special day,” added Mann “Nice for me and Jadsy [Josh Adams] to come down and actually look at the history of Wales and the teams that we’re playing in the autumn.
“It’s cool to see the different backstories as well about different jerseys and see how it’s changed over the years. It’s been a nice eye-opener.”
One of the items on display was a Wales jersey from the first ever match against New Zealand in 1905 which had been worn by Dai “Tarw” Jones. The item was of particular interest to Mann given Jones had played for Aberdare which is Mann’s own hometown club.
“Yeah, I actually didn’t realise [the jersey belonged to a former Aberdare player] to be honest with you,” said Mann “so when Peter said it was brilliant to see and hear.
“I think he beat the All Blacks with union and League with Wales and then with GB. Obviously he’s played for Aberdare, so it’s close to home as well. It’s very cool to see and be up close and personal with the jersey.”
The WRU archive contains over 5,000 items of memorabilia in total spanning the entire history of the game in Wales. You can view some of these items online here.
Don’t miss your next opportunity to see Wales play at home this November.
Tickets for all autumn Nations Championship games including Wales v Japan, New Zealand and Australia are on sale now from only £13.50 U18s and £26 Adults via WRU.WALES/TICKETS