Triangular Series 1999

Match Report

A three-match tournament between Wales, Ireland and Scotland was given little publicity and this led to very low crowds throughout the entire competition. Wales kicked off the Lincoln Financial Group Triangular Challenge with a home game against Ireland, to be played at the Vetch Field in Swansea, home of many marvellous Welsh nights out coupled with large crowds in the early half of the decade.

But how things had changed. On arriving at the ground early to avoid the heavy traffic on the atrocious old link road that used to be the only major access route into Swansea, supporters wondered if they had picked the wrong day as no-one seemed to be around. Local pubs didn‟t know there was a game on, but there was a poster in the football club shop. "We‟d have put posters up if people had given us some," local traders said.

There didn‟t seem to be much in the local press before or after the game and the national rugby league media were all sunning themselves down-under watching Great Britain being humiliated in the Tri-Nations. Even Sky Sports, who had loyally followed Wales throughout the decade, had lost interest and decided not to give any airtime to the tournament.

As a result, just 812 people turned up on that Friday night in October, Wales‟s lowest ever international crowd and a record that will probably never be broken, to see a 24-17 loss to a strong Irish side who were building towards the 2000 World Cup.

Missing key players such as Iestyn Harris, Keiron Cunningham and Anthony Sullivan, who were all on Lions duty, Clive Griffiths gave seven youngsters their international debuts, the most notable being St Helens' Hendy-born prop Gareth Price. He won the first of his 11 Welsh caps to date as well as Lenny Woodard, who alongside Price, played for Celtic Crusaders in their inaugural season in 2006.

When Richie Eyres was sent off just 10 minutes into the game, the odds were stacked against Wales. Debutant Steve Thomas, who almost signed for Celtic Crusaders in 2008 and would have done had it not been for a contract issue with Neath RFC, scored Wales‟s opening try with Damian Gibson and Martin Pearson also crossing. Pearson kicked two goals with Lee Briers adding a one-pointer. "There were a lot more plusses than minuses in that game," Clive Griffiths commented after the match. "There was lot of pride and passion and lads like Steve Thomas, Gareth Price and Lenny Woodard will have only gained from it."

Source: WalesRL.co.uk