Wales Feed

Behind The Scenes With The Wales Women Rugby Team

2017-02-09T12:00:00+00:00

The thing about working in TV is you never know which world you’ll enter next. Each job takes you temporarily to another place, where for a short period of time, you co-exist alongside your contributors, every waking moment of the day.

If you’re lucky, they accept you into their fold and you get the opportunity to live a different reality. This year’s been no exception - I’ve pretty much lived and breathed rugby every day whilst shadowing the Wales Women Squad as they prepared for the Six Nations championships.

At first I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. Would I ‘get’ what it’s like to be so focused and driven by one thing only? Would they let me into their gang, given I’m a Scot living in Wales for the last 17 years - technically ‘the enemy’! But I relish a challenge and don’t scare too easily so I thought what have I got to lose? Worst-case scenario - maybe a couple of teeth, if things went really badly!

As I started researching, it didn’t take long to realise that there are lots of assumptions about women’s rugby.

And after five weeks of living and breathing rugby I’m happy to confirm that the world I witnessed first-hand was very different from the often-popular misconceptions that surround the women’s game.

Firstly girls who play rugby don’t shy away from contact. I’ve witnessed an array of black eyes, fat lips and bruises in all sizes, shapes and colours (some the size of small countries). Each of the women took their injuries on the chin, the same as any sportsman would.

Secondly, the squad is fiercely competitive but team camaraderie is always greater than the sum of its individual parts. The women have really strong bonds and watch each other’s backs literally and metaphorically 24/7.

In a world where women are often pitted against each other, it was refreshing to be in a bubble with 32 women who between training sessions laughed, sang, cried and encouraged each other. And they are Welsh so they sing a lot! Thanks to prop Lowri Harries, I will never be able to listen to Proud Mary without visualizing her busting her moves!

Thirdly, much like their personalities, the girls come in a variety of ages, shapes and sizes depending on the positions they play. But in this group difference is embraced. They don’t judge each other for not being the same. Difference is what gives their team its power. Each body is celebrated for its unique set of strengths, and is seen as a tool to be nurtured with proper food and exercise.

Training under Head Coach Rowland Phillips’s watchful eye is hard work

The team also embodies the ethos that if you really work hard enough, and you have enough commitment and determination, you can earn a place in the squad.
They’ve fought hard to wear the red shirts with pride. In return I think we owe them 80 minutes of our time to cheer them on from the stands.

And to be honest, when the Wales Women Squad face Scotland, I won’t be too sad if Scotland lose. Whatever the outcome, the fact that the games are finally being broadcast live for the first time in history is still a victory in my eyes for women generally.

Watch Wales Women: Inside the Scrum, tonight 7.30pm, BBC Two Wales.

PRO12 SEASON PREVIEW

2016-09-02T13:03:49+00:00

EXPANSIVE PLAY
2016 has undoubtedly been the year of the sporting underdog. Wales reached the semi-finals of the European Championships, Leicester City won the Premier League, and Connacht claimed the Pro12 title.

The latter seemed an impossible feat just a few years ago – not least because the Irish Rugby Union was considering disbanding the province to save money.

It was the style of their victory that was so appealing. They won it with a genuine swagger, playing an expansive, fluid brand of rugby that belied the conditions they’re often faced with on the wind-blown west coast of Ireland.

Their actions have been contagious. At the Pro12 launch in Dublin on Tuesday, virtually all the coaches spoke of the need to seek the open spaces rather than the congested channels.

Statistics compiled by World Rugby underline the fact that the Pro12 already serves up an attacking feast each weekend, with more ball in play time than any other league globally, fewer penalties conceded than any other league in Europe, and a decade-high tally of 602 tries scored last season.

AMERICAN EXPANSION

If the coaches were talking about expansion on the pitch, the administrators were talking about expansion off it.

Financially, the Pro12 is Europe’s poor cousin, its revenues dwarfed by those in the Aviva Premiership and the French Top 14.

In order to close that gap, the Pro12 is widening it’s horizons, and gazing across the Atlantic.

It may seem like folly to partner up with a country in which rugby is a minority sport, but the Pro12’s Managing Director has spoken in enthusiastic terms of the country’s “phenomenal numbers” and “huge primary market”.

The plan – still at a formative stage – is to place two North American franchises in the league, and to secure investment from a US broadcaster.

Given that geography has been the league’s biggest obstacle (away fans are a rarity except for local derbies) adding two away trips to another continent doesn’t seem like an obvious solution.

But, with a sizeable celtic diaspora in the US, and a burgeoning interest in rugby following the Olympics, it may yet prove a visionary step in the league’s ongoing evolution.

WELSH HOPES
Last season, the Scarlets spent much of their campaign comfortably ensconced in the top four, before slipping out of contention at the last minute.

Their fifth place finish was the highest for a Welsh region, and secured them Champions Cup rugby this season.

This year, with a revamped backline that could strike fear into the heart of the most resolute of defences, they’re surely contenders.

For the rest, it was a season of underachievement.

The Ospreys are the most successful Welsh region in the competition’s history and are determined to atone for their eighth place finish last year.

The Blues were ultimately undone by their slow start – having to play the four Irish provinces away during the first five weeks of the season.

This time, the fixture list is friendlier, and their 4G Arms Park pitch is becoming a real asset, catching visiting teams cold if they’re unable to adapt to its pace and bounce.

For the Dragons, the only way is up. They had more losing bonus points than any other side in the league last year, suggesting the line between victory and defeat for them is a narrow one.

The solution according to head coach Kingsley Jones? Take more risks, score more tries. The terraces at Rodney Parade could witness some exciting action this season.

NEW ARRIVALS

The regions have long been accustomed to shopping on a budget, but perhaps that makes you better attuned to spotting a bargain.

That’s certainly the case for the Blues, who’ve secured the services of Super Rugby Champion, Willis Halaholo.

A bench-player when they signed him, he’s since been elevated to the Hurricanes’ starting line-up and was a crucial player in their run to the title.

As Blues’ head coach Danny Wilson has acknowledged, he may well have been beyond their budget if they’d approached him now.

The Scarlets and Ospreys have picked off a couple of the Crusaders’ shining lights with Johnny McNicholl and Kieron Fonotia on their way to Parc y Scarlets and the Liberty respectively.

All three will join up after their Mitre 10 Cup duties are fulfilled in October, and will hopefully add to the long line of Southern Hemisphere imports that have lit up the league.

Wales Loves Euro 2016

2016-07-06T14:20:25+00:00

There’s a whole lot of love going on in Wales at the moment, thanks to Euro 2016. And it seems the passionate support for our national team is matched by our love for gathering around a screen to watch them, or so the stats tell us.

Tickets for the fanzone at the Principality Stadium - supported by BBC Wales - were all gone in less than 90 minutes as fans made their plans for the semi-final. Those electric goal celebrations captured by BBC Wales news cameras at earlier fanzone matches suggest it could be quite a night.

The love doesn’t end there. Even the stars of the new Doctor Who series, Pearl Mackie and Matt Lucas - who don’t pretend to be Welsh, but are happily filming here - have been brushing up their Welsh to say a heartfelt ‘pob lwc’ to our boys (’da iawn a diolch’ to them).

This external content is available at its source: https://twitter.com/bbcdoctorwho/status/750607842780983297

As well as reliving those glorious goals, we’ve also been looking closely at the remarkable figures from last weekend’s incredible quarter-final against Belgium. They show that even more history was made that Friday night as in-home viewing peaked at 1.27 million people in Wales, the highest ever reported TV audience in Wales for live sport.

We’re still working out how many others watched the match beyond their own front rooms. Initial indications suggest there were another couple of hundred thousand fans avidly watching in pubs, clubs or fanzones across Wales. That’s as well, of course, as the tens of thousands of Welsh fans that made it to France to support the team. And apparently well over 80% of the whole population say they were interested in the result of the match.

The in-home BBC1 peak audience was the third highest TV audience in Wales this century, only exceeded by the 2012 Olympic opening and closing ceremonies (1.43m and 1.33m respectively).

The Wales v Belgium TV figure was around double the previous record this century for a Wales international football match. Before Euro 2016, the highest audience was a peak of 640,000 on BBC One during Wales v Russia in November 2003. Going further even back in time, the highest audience in the previous decade was the Wales v Romania World Cup qualifier in November 1993, which had an average BBC One audience of 671,000 (we don’t have the peak audience for that match but it’s a safe bet that it would have been around 800,000).

Only time will tell, but I suspect the record may be broken by the figures for tonight’s semi-final. It’s been shown by ITV this time but will still, of course, be live again on BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru, as well as the BBC Wales-produced coverage on S4C.

Whatever happens, if Wales make it to the final, we might be breaking even more records on Sunday night.

It’s OUR TIME to Show Pride and Passion

2016-06-28T15:22:31+00:00

Wales have really done us proud at Euro 2016 - there’s just no stopping our national team - or their fans!

The whole country is so proud of what we’ve achieved so far - and we want to show the world just how passionate Welsh fans are.

To help us celebrate send us snaps of you showing your support for the team and we’ll get to work on creating a Facebook gallery … plus we may even create a TV and social media trail for BBC One Wales with the best pics!

You have three different ways in which you can submit your best pics:

• Facebook: Post on BBC Cymru Wales page
• Twitter: Tweet using #ItsOurTime and tag @BBCWales
• Instagram: Post using #ItsOurTime and tag @BBCWales

Please read the terms and conditions below before submitting your picture.

And then keep following our social media accounts for more info about when and where we’ve used your pictures!

Come On Wales!
#ItsOurTime

Daeth EIN HAWR i ddangos balchder ac angerdd

Mae Cymru wedi gwneud yn wych yn Euro 2016 - does neb yn gallu stopio ein tîm cenedlaethol - na’r cefnogwyr!

Mae’r wlad i gyd mor falch o'r hyn rydym wedi’i gyflawni hyd yma - ac rydym am ddangos i’r byd pa mor angerddol yw cefnogwyr Cymru.

Er mwyn ein helpu i ddathlu, anfonwch eich lluniau atom ohonoch chi’n cefnogi’r tîm ac fe awn ni ati i greu oriel Facebook ... ac efallai byddwn hyd yn oed yn creu trêl teledu ar gyfer BBC One Wales a’r gwefannau cymdeithasol gyda’r lluniau gorau!

Mae tair ffordd wahanol y gallwch anfon eich lluniau gorau atom ni:

• Facebook: Rhowch neges ar dudalen BBC Cymru Wales
• Twitter: Anfonwch neges drydar gan ddefnyddio #DaethEinHawr a thagio @BBCWales
• Instagram: Postiwch gan ddefnyddio #DaethEinHawr a thagio @BBCWales

Darllenwch y telerau a’r amodau isod cyn anfon eich llun.

Ac yna cariwch ymlaen i ddilyn ein cyfryngau cymdeithasol am fwy o wybodaeth ynglŷn â phryd a ble rydym wedi defnyddio eich lluniau!

C’mon Cymru!
#DaethEinHawr

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Coleman keen as mustard to avoid cold turkey before Euro 2016

2016-03-02T09:15:20+00:00

Made your plans for France yet?

Tickets, travel and hotels sorted?

Wales manager Chris Coleman has done all of that in good time for the Euro 2016 tournament which starts on Friday, June 10 - as if you needed to be told.

But make no mistake, in football terms, the clock is ticking fast for Coleman and his squad.

As things stand Ashley Williams, Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and company have ONLY four and a half hours of football in their Wales kits before the Euros begin.

That's about as long as it would take to cook a decent sized turkey for a football team on Christmas Day!

The Wales squad will come out of international hibernation on Thursday, March 24 when they entertain fellow finalists Northern Ireland, at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Coleman's men will stay together before flying out to play the Ukraine, on March 28.

Wales have also confirmed a friendly against Sweden, in Stockholm on Sunday, June 5.

Then they head to France for that seismic opener with Slovakia, on Saturday, June 11 in Bordeaux.

In pure football terms, it's not too long, is it? Three friendlies?

Well, actually, the term ''friendly'' could not be less appropriate. They are warm-ups.

The players won't be looking at them as friendlies - there's too much at stake.

No doubt Coleman already knows the bulk of his squad for France. I'm pretty sure Gareth Bale knows not to plan any holidays for June - and hopefully early July!

I suspect as many as 19 or 20 players can correctly assume they will be on the flight from Stockholm to the Welsh base in France.

Others who have been in an around the squad during the qualifiers cannot be so sure.

Of course, club form will be a key factor for youngsters like Emyr Huws, George Williams and perhaps Tom Bradshaw to impress Coleman.

But, all the players know a good performance against Northern Ireland or the Ukraine could leave an indelible mark on Coleman as he considers his final list for France.

You may feel the days are dragging ahead of your footballing adventure of a lifetime.

There's still plenty of time to buy the euros, sort the gear to ensure a tan while you take in the tournament and study the French phrase book.

But Chris Coleman? He's got just the time it takes to cook a Christmas roast to ensure Euro 2016 doesn't turn into cold turkey for Wales.

Memorable friendlies

Not always the best results or even the best games - but all mean something special to someone.

The one which stands out for me, even though I was not there, was Wales 2-1 Trinidad and Tobago, May 25, 2006.

Memorable - not because it was the only game Wales have played against Trinidad and Tobago. Not because Rob Earnshaw scored twice. Not because it was played in Graz, Austria. Memorable because - in the 55th minute, manager John Toshack replaced David Vaughan with Gareth Bale. At the age of 16 years and 315 days, Bale became Wales' youngest ever international - and possibly the greatest!

Just like all good performances, this is a blog post of two halves - for the rest of my top ten Wales friendlies as suggested by my Twitter followers, visit @robphillipshere, or wait for the second half to follow here soon.

Virtual Reality: could it change the way we watch the Six Nations?

2016-02-26T13:43:05+00:00

Virtual reality puts the viewer at the centre of the action allowing them to look around and choose what they look at. It gives a much more immersive experience than traditional television or computer games. At BBC Wales, we are experimenting with what it could mean for our coverage of events. And there aren't many bigger events in Wales than the RBS Six Nations.

Expanded 360 view of the anthems at the start of the Wales v Scotland match 2016

Working with the WRU, Visit Wales and Cardiff based VR specialists, Atticus Digital, we filmed a selection of virtual reality video clips at the recent Wales v Scotland Six Nations match. Have a look at one of the clips on the BBC Wales Facebook page.

Together these clips give you a flavour of what it is like to be standing pitch-side at the Principality Stadium with 74,000 fans cheering as the teams come out onto the pitch and sing the anthems.

These clips are most exciting when viewed using a Virtual Reality headset, but you can still get a taste of the potential of this technology by watching the videos on your smartphone. Search for BBC Wales on your Facebook app or visit the BBC channel on the YouTube App. Move your phone and look around to get a feel for the scale of the venue and the emotional intensity of the crowd’s reaction.

This fledgling technology has its challenges. When we used it to film the Cardiff Half Marathon back in October, it was the technology that challenged us: could the camera actually film for long enough and how do we stream such large video files to the audience? Now the challenges are more creative/logistical: with such a high profile event how do we capture the quality of experience that the audience expects without getting in the way of the TV cameras, players and pyrotechnics?

Taking VR pictures with the helmet-mounted VR camera

Wales’ Six Nations home games are filmed with 29 cameras, to achieve the very best TV coverage. You might think that adding a few more 360 cameras would be simple, but, even with fantastic cooperation from the Stadium and our TV team, it was hard to position cameras where they wouldn't obscure the view of match cameras. One novel solution is the use of a head mounted camera – easier to move than a tripod.

We hope you enjoy this first trial of capturing the excitement of international rugby, but clearly the next step is to look at how Virtual Reality could be used to capture match action. In a few years, I think we will see live coverage, and immersive experiences that take you onto the pitch during the game, putting rugby fans right at the centre of the action.

Keeping pace with a changing sport audience

2016-02-25T16:00:00+00:00

Earlier this week, we set out BBC Wales' plans to ensure our sports coverage keeps pace with our audiences.

The changes we’re making include a major expansion of our online and mobile team but, with it, the end of the Sport Wales magazine programme on BBC Two and the loss of a number of jobs – incredibly tough for a programme team that has always shone creatively. But I wanted to set out the thinking behind the sport changes and particularly their impact on audiences.

First things first, let's deal with the financials. This is absolutely not about us reducing our investment in sport. In fact, we'll spend more on sports coverage this year than ever before. From Euro 2016 to the World Half Marathon Championships via the FA Cup, Pro 12, Six Nations and the Rio Olympics, we'll be there every step of the way.

But meeting the challenge of covering so many major events on BBC Wales isn't cheap. And it requires focus.

Getting it right means having to be really clear about what matters most to the audience. And they tell us loud and clear. They expect the best live event coverage and authoritative journalism that's available whenever and wherever they choose. The changes proposed yesterday support both.

Does that mean turning our back on TV - or radio - journalism in a mad dash for online? Not a bit of it. While some audiences are certainly moving online, TV and radio remain critically important for many. Which means, right now, we need to ride a number of horses at the same time. It's a tricky balance to strike - but we think these changes will help us on our way.

I also know some people are concerned that these changes could damage our coverage of less mainstream sports that were regularly showcased on Sport Wales? I don't believe that will be the case for three reasons.

First, we will expect our expanded online services to demonstrate absolutely the same commitment to breadth and diversity in its output. Sport Wales has set the standard and we expect online to follow suit.

Second, we will continue to offer the broadest sporting coverage available in any of the devolved nations. Just have a listen to Radio Wales Sport on any weekday evening. And, third, by building our online and mobile service we have the opportunity to reach an even bigger audience all over the UK - providing an unrivalled platform for all sports in Wales.

And by delivering content where audiences demand it, we’re serving everyone better – including our audiences and sport itself.

The Making of the Welsh Sports Review

2015-12-16T12:26:29+00:00

If you love Wales and you love sport and you love telly then there is nothing more pleasing than spending the dark, wet winter months in an edit suite bringing together all the very, very best bits from another wonderful year of Welsh sport. So making the Welsh Sports Review programme is always a pleasure.

We start the process by writing a giant list of all the major achievements by Welsh teams and athletes during 2015 and our researchers trawl the archives for all the best clips from the year. There’s plenty of choice – from the outtakes, to the controversies, as well as the funny social media clips like Ioan Gruffudd dancing in his pants or the starstruck Japanese fan meeting Shane Williams before the Wales v Uruguay game. The way people engage with sport through social media has become a big part of how we celebrate and remember the big sports moments and that’s something we really try to reflect throughout the programme.

Welsh dragon graffiti art used as a visual motif in the programme

We spend a week or two interviewing well-known Welsh sports fans, ex sports stars, sports broadcasters, and Welsh actors and comedians who love sport, and we ask them about the moments that made their hairs stand on end. Downton Abbey actor Tom Cullen admitted to us he cried when Wales qualified for Euro 2016 and comedian Elis James said he took his top off and hugged a man he’d never met when Wales beat Cyprus!

The really tricky job for us is to edit 10 hours of content down to 59 minutes. We can’t fit everything in so there are some heated debates in the edit suite about what stays and what hits the cutting room floor. We then add in a bit of narration to help the programme flow and we work with some of the fabulous BBC Radio Wales commentary team, including the voice of football Rob Phillips and Mr Rugby himself, Gareth Charles. It gets us so pumped up in the edit suite listening to some of their amazing commentaries. The editor and I are always jumping around again, cheering and reliving the moment.

Gareth Bale Welsh graffiti art

The finished programme is a mixture of action, highlights, commentary, news clips, voice over and music, interspersed with comments from our celebrity contributors. We try and keep it pacey, action packed and full of humour. But there needs to be light and shade and we want it to be a real emotional rollercoaster, just like when you watch live sport with your mates.

This year we commissioned a Welsh graffiti artist to spray paint three big murals of Gareth Bale, a huge roaring dragon and a Rugby World Cup and we use them as a visual motif throughout the programme. After a month in edit we are ready to lay down the voice, take the programme to the dubbing experts, tweak the sound, pump up the volume and deliver the programme. We hope you enjoy it. We loved making it.

Welsh Sports Review 2015. Friday, December 18, BBC Two Wales, 9pm. #WelshSportsReview

There will be a party in Wales on Saturday... (or Tuesday!)

2015-10-06T11:25:00+00:00

OK I admit it - I actually thought we'd have had the bash to celebrate Wales' qualification to next summer's Euro 2016 finals, in France.

Let's be honest, many a Welsh fan who watched or listened to the home qualifier with Israel at the Cardiff City Stadium last month were ready to party.

It was understandable since Wales' last major finals appearance was at the World Cup in 1958.

Just one problem. Wales didn't get the win they needed. They drew 0-0.

Of course, that night we also had the hope Cyprus would hold Belgium to secure our qualification.

Typically, Cyprus were four minutes away from securing the result Wales wanted, before Belgium's Eden Hazard scored their winning goal to ensure the Welsh wait continued.

The only redeeming feature for me was the fact I watched the closing minutes of that Cyprus-Belgium game on a special Alan Thompson Show on Radio Wales. Mal Pope and the one and only Beverley Humphries also on hand. Quite an experience!

Imagine what the singing would have been like if we'd won!

Still, after 57 years of waiting to qualify for the finals of a major tournament - another few weeks won't matter.

And let's be fair - at the start of this campaign, who would have thought Wales would be top of Group B and just one point away from qualifying with two games to go?

That's the reality. Wales have two games left to secure the most important point in their history.

On Saturday night, Chris Coleman's men take on Bosnia Herzegovina in Zenica before returning home to play world football minnows Andorra, at the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday.

Of course, both games and THE best build-up will be on BBC Radio Wales, not forgetting the sports phone-in CallRob after each match when you can air your views on 03700-100-110, by texting 8-10-12 or tweeting @bbcradiowales.

It looks like a Super Saturday for Welsh sport - with Wales' rugby World Cup clash against Australia at (KO 4.45pm) ahead of the Euro 2016 encounter (KO 7.45pm).

So, for Wales to do it under their own steam, they need a point. Actually, they may not even need a point if Israel fail to win both of their remainng games - at home to Cyprus on Saturday evening and away to Belgium on the night Wales play Andorra.

But as Wales manager Chris Coleman said: ''We want to take care of our own business.''

Wales have never beaten Bosnia. The best result was a 2-2 draw 12 years ago when John Hartson and Rob Earnshaw scored.

But Bosnia, who were top seeds for this group when the original draw was made, have disappointed in this section.

And they are set to be without two of their best players Everton's Mohammed Besic - who is suspended - and former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, who is doubtful with injury.

In contrast, the Wales squad looks as healthy as its been for some time with Joe Allen and Joe Ledley fit again and, best of all, Gareth Bale looking fine..

Coleman is predicting a ''bit of a tear up'' in Zenica because Bosnia have to win to keep alive their slim hopes of securing third place in Group B - and a spot in the Euro 2016 play-offs, which could yet earn them a berth in France.

But Wales travel in confidence these days and will be desperate to remain unbeaten in the group.

Coleman admitted to being ''flat'' for a few days after the Israel game - which goes to show he feels exactly the same emotions as we supporters!!

That is part of the Coleman appeal. He's just like you and me. He wears his heart on his sleeve when it comes to pride in his country. That shines through from his players, who he has moulded into a very tight group.

They have the chance to make a dream come true. And, if it does not happen in Bosnia, then Wales have the ultimate insurance against Andorra.

The tiny European mountain top Principality are ranked 205th in football's world rankings - out of 209. They are just behind Somalia and a place in front of Djibouti.

They have only won one competitive game in their history. Frankly, it looks as close to a home banker as you can get.

This time I'm sure there will be no let down.

If its not Saturday, it will be Tuesday. Prepare to party!

A Rugby Musical Spectacular

2015-09-25T17:00:00+00:00

“We can call it ‘Gareth Charles – The Musical’!”
Those were the words of Steve Austins, Editor Radio Wales in April this year. They made as much sense to me then as they’re probably making to you right now but let me try and explain.
Every year, BBC Radio Wales gets the chance to work closely with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. It’s always an exciting opportunity. Previous projects have seen the radio station take over the orchestra for a day and last year we put on a special concert with Mike Peters, front man of rock group The Alarm, who performed to orchestral arrangements of some of the band’s classic hits.

This time around we decided that it would be good to do something around the time of the Rugby World Cup, particularly the England/Wales match which is always a popular fixture with our audience.
We talked about trying to recreate the atmosphere of the last time Wales beat England in a spectacular 30-3 drubbing that clinched the Six Nations Championship for Wales in 2013, snatching the Grand Slam from England in the process. The atmosphere in the Millennium Stadium that day was exciting, intense and emotional, resulting in a particularly memorable and passionate commentary from our chief rugby correspondent Gareth Charles. Steve suggested setting some of those clips to music which would be performed by the orchestra.

I was tasked with developing ‘Gareth Charles – The Musical’ further.

It soon became apparent that just playing some radio commentary whilst an orchestra performed probably wouldn’t be the most scintillating thing for an audience to sit through. I started looking into using the TV pictures from that day too.

Eddie Butler introduces the evening of Rugby and Music

The piece also needed a narrator to tell the story of that day and I decided that Eddie Butler, former captain of Wales, eminent broadcaster and journalist, would be ideal to write the script.
Calling on the distant memories of my music degree I collated a list of suitably epic (and accessible) classical music that included Wagner’s ‘Ride Of the Valkyries’ and Prokofiev’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. I collected a few choice phrases that had been penned by Eddie for some of his newspaper articles and recorded them in a rough approximation (certainly NOT an impersonation!) of his voice to demonstrate how the finished piece might sound with a mixture of music, commentary and narration.

It sounded great. The only problem now was that Eddie knew nothing about the project – yet. It took less than 3 minutes to sell the idea to him and he seemed genuinely excited to be involved.
Next we needed a film to show the audience who would be attending the event. I wanted it to have the same glossy, high production values which are associated with our Sport department’s output and I was allocated Chris Howells, one of their producers, who also had a musical background.

BBC National Orchestra of Wales prepare to strike up

Over the next few weeks Chris worked with Eddie and put together a 20 minute film that didn’t just tell the story of that historic day, it also investigated the historic rivalry between the two teams.
Musical scores were hired by the orchestra and additional players were drafted in – apparently some of the pieces required a larger orchestra than normal!

We released tickets to the performance and they sold out almost straight away. I found my days starting to be taken up with discussions about big screens, lighting rigs, set dressing, and a host of other things you wouldn’t normally come across in an average radio production. In addition to this, Radio Wales’ digital team were filming the event for our website. They had 6 cameras set up that they were going to edit into a visual spectacular to accompany the radio programme.

BBC NOW providing the soundtrack to the rugby video

By now this project, that had started as such a simple proposition, had grown into one of the most complicated projects I’d ever produced. We basically had a live orchestra trying to play along to a film that required them to hit certain points at specific times. In addition to this we had a live narrator who also had to hit certain points without crashing into excerpts of commentary that were on the film.

This made things particularly difficult for the guest conductor on the day, Kenneth Woods. If the orchestra played too fast or too slow they would be out of sync with the film. In the end, we had to give him an audio feed of the original guide track of music that we’d used to edit the film. He had this fed to his headphones and then had to keep the orchestra performing live at the same speed as the recording on the video tape – a musical equivalent of rubbing your head whilst patting your stomach!

Conductor Kenneth Woods with BBC NOW

Performance day arrived and I had a last minute crisis of confidence. Suddenly, on paper, the whole project seemed absolutely ridiculous and impossible! A further issue that came to light during rehearsals was the volume of the orchestra in relation to Eddie’s narration and Gareth’s commentary clips. Parts of Holst’s ‘Mars’ require the orchestra playing at full blast and they were in danger of drowning everything else out.

I needn’t have worried. I had a fantastic technical team with me who dealt with every issue that arose and after only two full run-throughs of the film we were ready to go.

The audience arrived, dressed in rugby regalia as we’d requested. The majority wore rugby shirts but there were also a few daffodil heads and face-painted dragons. People were treating this like a proper rugby match!

The first half of the evening was a straight forward concert. The orchestra played ‘musical representations’ of some of the countries Wales might meet on their way to the Rugby World Cup Final and then it was time for the main piece.

In the control room we had a collection of producers and engineers, each one controlling and cueing different parts of the production. The orchestra started the first bars of Vaughan Williams ‘Fantasia on a theme of Thomas Tallis’ and we were up and running.

The recording went without a hitch. Eddie and the orchestra were faultless. The audience behaved like they were at a rugby match, singing along with the National Anthem and cheering and clapping whenever a try or kick went over even chanting ‘Wales, Wales, Wales’ at one point.

I spoke to several members of the audience afterwards but for me the show’s success was summed up by one older gent who told me that he’d never been to a rugby match before but now, having attended this, felt like he had. Job done!

Job done!

You can hear Eddie Butler’s World Cup Warm Up at 9pm on Friday 25th September, and 1pm/6.40pm on Saturday 26th September on BBC Radio Wales and for 30 days after broadcast on BBC iPlayer Radio.

The film of the event is an iPlayer Exclusive which can be viewed on BBC iPlayer until Friday 2nd October.

Sometimes I wish I was a fan

2015-09-03T10:45:00+00:00

Rob would love to wear the Wales shirt with pride, but has to stay neutral when commentating

Don't get me wrong, I love what I do - what's not to like commentating on football?

But sometimes, particularly when I am watching Wales, I miss being able to react just like a supporter would.

OK, I tend to get a bit excited. But I try to keep an impartial lid on it, too.

For instance, myself and Kevin Ratcliffe could not sing along with ''Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau'' when the fans broke into the anthem during the second half of that emotional win over Belgium, in June.

This week of all weeks its difficult not to replace my usual 'Dai Cap' with a fans' hat.

Wales are on the brink of something they have not done since 1958 - qualifying for a major tournament finals.

Two wins - away in Cyprus tonight and against Israel, at the Cardiff City Stadium on Sunday - would ensure Chris Coleman's men qualify for the finals of Euro 2016. Sounds simple doesn't it?

But I have been watching Wales since I was a youngster. As a fan, written journalist and now broadcaster I have endured plenty of the heartbreaks - Joe Jordan's handball, Paul Bodin's missed penalty, the despair of the Euro 2004 play-offs. . . . to name a few.

That last near miss was the worst when as a Wales follower.

Mark Hughes' side - with Ryan Giggs, Craig Bellamy, John Hartson and Garry Speed among their stars - had done the hard work with a goalless draw in Moscow, only to tumble to a 1-0 defeat at home.

It was devastating. They all hurt, but that was particularly hard to take.

But may be it was all part of some grand plan? May be all the disappointments were building to this point? May be success will be the greatest feeling ever?

Certainly in all the time I have covered Wales, I can think of no squad which was more ''together'' as the players, say. They all look forward to assembling for international duty these days.

In Gareth Bale, we might just be seeing the greatest player to pull on a Welsh shirt. Arron Ramsey is the sort of midfield player Wales have so often craved - and the type who has done such damage to us.

Ashley Williams is a massive presence and a leader for Swansea City and Wales. There are able players throughout.

Most importantly this squad have embraced the expectation thrust upon them as the group has progressed,

I've watched Wales in some far off lands - Armenia, Azerbaijan and America among them. I've even watched Wales play Poland in Portugal, while staying in Spain. Work that one out!

Amid all the heartache there have been some wonderful peaks - notably the wins over Germany and toppling mighty Italy.

I can rarely remember such an emotional evening as the balmy, wet night just a few weeks ago when Wales beat Belgium thanks to Bale.

I've tried not to think too hard about it, but as the Wales players prepare for such an important few days, its impossible not to wonder just what it will be like to see the Class of 2015 emulate their predecessors of 1958.

Of course, its easy to forget there is still a trip to Bosnia and the home game against Andorra in October so its not essential for Wales to complete the task this week.

In truth, another few weeks would not hurt, especially when we have waited for so long.

And yet, wouldn't it be great to sort it out in the next few days?

When Wales qualified in 1958, they had to beat Israel to get there. Doing the same this weekend would have a certain ring to it.

But most of all, I can't wait to cheer Wales over the line - and then celebrate with the fans!

You can follow Wales’ journey on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and online with live match commentary of all of Wales’ matches, in-depth discussion on their qualification hopes, expert opinions, interviews and analysis.

BBC Radio Wales Sport has live commentary from 7.00pm of Cyprus v Wales with Rob Phillips and Kevin Ratcliffe in Nicosia this evening (Thursday 3 September 2015). Kick-off is at 7.45pm with pre and post match analysis led by Steffan Garerro.

Securing the Six Nations

2015-07-09T14:00:00+00:00

Scroll down for Welsh

I know Welsh rugby supporters in Wales have been waiting for some time. So it’s fantastic to share the news at long last. It’s simple really. All of Wales’ Six Nations matches will remain available to everybody, free-to-air, for the next six years - thanks to a new broadcast partnership between the BBC and ITV.

What does this mean for fans in Wales? Well, every home match at the Millennium Stadium will be live and exclusive on the BBC and S4C, as well as Wales’ away games in Edinburgh and Paris. ITV will show live action for all England, Ireland and Italy home matches. Both broadcasters will also be able to show highlights of every match in the tournament.

I know the RBS 6 Nations Championship has a unique place in the hearts of Welsh rugby fans – and it’s why we’ve gone the extra mile to secure this new deal. More than a million people in Wales tuned into the opening Wales v England match earlier this year. And with Wales’ home matches topping the most-watched programme chart in Wales for the past three years, I’m thrilled these great sporting moments will remain on the BBC.

The new deal will begin immediately next season and run until Spring 2021.

The television and online rights to the RBS 6 Nations will be shared between the BBC and ITV while the radio rights – including live coverage on BBC Radio Wales and Radio Cymru – will stay with the BBC.

It’s a deal that means that the magic of Welsh rugby will remain within everyone’s reach – and not just those that can afford TV subscriptions. And, of course, it means that viewers can continue to enjoy the BBC’s unbeatable rugby coverage.

It’s no secret that the BBC is facing real funding challenges but we know what this competition means to audiences across Wales, and I’m delighted we were able to work with ITV to put together a deal that put audiences first.

Sure, there may be a few eyebrows raised at this partnership. It’s one that might have been considered unlikely in the past. But I believe it’s the right deal. The right deal for Wales, for Welsh rugby and for viewers. A win-win-win.

Cadw'r Chwe Gwlad

Rwy’n gwybod bod cefnogwyr rygbi yng Nghymru wedi bod yn aros am beth amser. Felly mae’n wych i rannu’r newyddion o’r diwedd. Mae’n syml mewn gwirionedd. Bydd pob un o gemau Cymru yn y Chwe Gwlad yn parhau i fod ar gael i bawb, am ddim, am y chwe blynedd nesaf - diolch i bartneriaeth ddarlledu newydd rhwng y BBC ac ITV.

Beth mae hyn yn ei olygu i gefnogwyr yng Nghymru? Wel, bydd pob gêm gartref yn Stadiwm y Mileniwm yn fyw ac yn ecsgliwsif ar y BBC ac S4C, yn ogystal â gemau Cymru oddi cartref yng Nghaeredin a Pharis. Bydd ITV yn dangos holl gemau cartref Lloegr, Iwerddon a’r Eidal yn fyw. Bydd y ddau ddarlledwr hefyd yn gallu dangos uchafbwyntiau pob gêm yn y bencapwriaeth.

Dwi’n gwybod bod gan Bencampwriaeth 6 Gwlad RBS le unigryw yng nghalonnau cefnogwyr rygbi Cymru - a dyna pam ein bod wedi gwneud ein gorau i sicrhau’r cytundeb newydd hwn. Fe wyliodd dros filiwn o bobl yng Nghymru gêm agoriadol Cymru yn erbyn Lloegr yn gynharach eleni. A gyda gemau cartref Cymru ar frig y siart gwylio rhaglenni yng Nghymru am y tair blynedd diwethaf, dwi wrth fy modd fod yr eiliadau mawr hyn yn y byd chwaraeon yn aros ar y BBC.

Bydd y cytundeb newydd yn dechrau’n syth y tymor nesaf ac yn rhedeg tan y Gwanwyn 2021. Bydd yr hawliau teledu ac ar-lein i 6 Gwlad RBS yn cael eu rhannu rhwng y BBC ac ITV tra bydd yr hawliau radio - gan gynnwys darllediadau byw ar BBC Radio Cymru a Radio Wales - yn aros gyda’r BBC.

Mae’n gytundeb sy’n golygu y bydd hud rygbi Cymru yn parhau i fod o fewn cyrraedd pawb - ac nid dim ond i’r rhai sy’n gallu fforddio tanysgrifiadau teledu. Ac, wrth gwrs, mae’n golygu y gall gwylwyr barhau i fwynhau darllediadau rygbi diguro’r BBC.

Nid yw’n gyfrinach bod y BBC yn wynebu heriau cyllid go iawn, ond rydym yn gwybod beth mae’r gystadleuaeth hon yn ei olygu i gynulleidfaoedd ledled Cymru, ac rwy wrth fy modd ein bod wedi gallu gweithio gydag ITV i lunio cytundeb sy’n rhoi cynulleidfaoedd yn gyntaf.

Mae’n siwr y bydd y bartneriaeth hon yn un annisgwyl i rai pobl. Mae’n un y byddai wedi cael ei hystyried yn annhebygol yn y gorffennol. Ond rwy’n credu mai hon yw’r fargen orau. Y cytundeb iawn i Gymru, i rygbi Cymru ac i wylwyr. Mae pawb ar eu hennill.

Pro 12 Judgement Day III

2015-04-22T09:35:47+00:00

One of the defining elements of Welsh culture is our passion around sport.

BBC Wales Sport is at the heart of portraying global events and moments of national significance – and long may it continue.

We deliver news of triumphs and tribulations to millions of people each week - whether online, on radio or television, at home or abroad. Four in ten adults use at least one of these platforms monthly.

We gather the nation together around key events like the Olympics and Commonwealth Games. Incredibly, the Six Nations rugby tournament reaches 69% of the entire population in Wales, while the TV audience for Welsh internationals sometimes exceeding one million viewers. That’s why we’re fighting so hard to retain the broadcasting rights to the Six Nations amid stiff competition from other broadcasters.

And, we also help you catch-up with things like the Welsh football teams Euro qualifying campaign; Swansea City’s progress in the Premier League; Cardiff City’s travails in the Championship and Wrexham’s FA Trophy agony. There’s also superstar, Gareth Bale at Real Madrid and mountain biker Manon Carpenter’s defence of her World Championship title.

This weekend the spotlight falls on our rugby regions who compete in the Guinness Pro12 Judgement Day at the Millennium Stadium which is live on BBC Two Wales, S4C, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and bbc.co.uk/sportwales.

The challenges regional rugby faces are well documented in terms of money and budgets and the competition from France and England. The new chairman of the WRU, Gareth Davies has appealed to the public to rally around the event on the back of a fantastic Six Nations. The event is on target to break attendance records – hopefully beating the Millennium Stadium figure for the 2009 Heineken Cup semi-final between Cardiff Blues and Leicester Tigers.

Derbies are always a feisty affair but World Cup year has added extra spice. The Dragons will want to bounce back from their European hammering against Edinburgh. The Scarlets are fighting to finish in the top six to qualify for Champions Cup rugby, while the Ospreys are again flying the flag for Wales in the Pro 12. They deserve great credit for being consistently the best of the regions, with an outstanding talent production line.

Technically, it’s an engineering and logistical challenge to broadcast – one that we meet each week of the season – but with the excitement of two successive games to bring to our audiences. First up is The Blues v Ospreys on BBC Two Wales @ 2.15pm followed by The Dragons v Sacrlets on S4C @ 4.30pm. It has the makings of a fantastic event. We’re very much looking forward to it.

Our television viewers will see Hawkeye in action on a BBC Wales outside broadcast for the first time – adding another dimension to our already extensive match coverage, which even includes a camera on the referee’s chest!

Specific planning for the occasion started months ago as soon as the WRU and the Pro12 announced the date and kick off times.

While we are regular visitors to the Millennium Stadium for international rugby, the two-match format, with the second match kicking off only thirty minutes or so after the opener has ended, means that our presentation, commentary, production and engineering teams have an even busier day in front of them than normal. Their expertise is amongst the best in the world.

In fact, our technical team will have spent the whole day before Judgement Day itself putting all of our equipment in place and testing everything so that we are ready to go with our final checks on Saturday morning.

Equipment such as cameras and microphones will be placed in all parts of the stadium – and some where we would not normally go, like high on the roof, giving a birds-eye view of the stadium.

Our programmes on BBC Wales and S4C will be on for almost five hours, but our work doesn’t stop when the closing pictures end on S4C’s broadcast at 6.45pm. Those cameras and microphones don’t make their own way down from the gantry - it will be late into the night before everything is back in our trucks and returned to our base in Llandaff.

But that’s all part of the job, and we know how privileged we are to bring the top sporting occasions to the BBC Wales audiences.

Have I mentioned that you can watch all the highlights on Scrum V on Sunday teatime….?!

Good Morning Wales

2015-02-10T18:00:00+00:00

It's so fantastic to hear Louise Elliott back on the radio - a thought more than echoed by the scores of people who got in touch with Good Morning Wales on Friday morning. I'm grateful to everyone who went the extra mile to get the new format on air last week. It was a really strong start and I'm looking forward to the first full week of Lou and Ollie together this week. If you haven't seen it yet, have a look at the behind-the-scenes video of the build-up:

Louise Elliott joins Olver Hides for the new sound of Good Morning Wales

As for the Six Nations, well, if we lost the game, we certainly won the build-up! Our re-living of Gareth Charles' commentary of the last try when Wales beat England in 2013 went down a storm on Friday with a video which proves that the best pictures are on the radio...

The best pictures are on the radio - 2013 Six Nations: Wales 30 - England 3

Elsewhere, our outside broadcasts opposite the Millennium Stadium were fun, and our programmes leading up to the Wales v England game were unique to BBC Radio Wales - Cerys Matthews' Grand Slam Day and the Radio Wales Sport hour with Sam Warburton's dad and brother to name but two. It was great to simulcast and with BBC Radio 5Live on Thursday night too.

So all eyes turn to Scotland and what looks like a tough make or break trip to Murrayfield for a championship chasing Wales side. The build-up starts straight after Jamie Owen's programme with Lynn Bowles and Chris Corcoran live from Edinburgh at 12.30. Radio Wales Sport is live with the match from 2pm. There's chance to Call Rick O'Shea straight after the match.

Jason Mohammad is featuring a special week of Couples Quizbreak at 11am each weekday as we build up to Valentine's Day on Saturday. I would imagine there will be a fair few contenders to be Owen Money's bride that day. They always get a call at 10.15 as part of Money for Nothing from 9.

Finally, best of luck to Felicity Evans and Mai Davies who become part of the Good Evening Wales presenter line-up this week. Felicity joins Gareth Lewis on Mondays and Tuesdays, with Mai on Wednesdays to Fridays.

Have a great week,

Steve

Football on Radio Wales: A tricky balance of rights, geography and soldering irons

2014-08-14T08:18:43+00:00

So this weekend Swansea kick off their fourth Premier League season away to Louis Van Gaal’s Manchester United. For those of you, like me, who were brought up on Welsh football in the 80s and 90s, it’s unbelievable that this has become normality for us now.

Thankfully, the Swans’ opening game – in fact the opening game for the whole Premier League season – will be live on BBC Radio Wales, across the whole of Wales.

Swansea City's Wilfried Bony celebrates with Marvin Emnes. Picture: AFP/Getty Images

As many of you know, that’s not always the case. And as the season gets into full swing, I thought it was worth reiterating why we do what we do for our football teams.

Firstly, there’s the small matter of rights. As far as the Premier League is concerned, we’re a local, not a national station. Therefore, we have the right to broadcast all of Swansea’s games home and away, providing we do it on a small number of transmitters that cover only the city and its immediate surroundings.

That rules out us broadcasting Swansea games on AM, Online and Digital TV, and more frustratingly, FM in places like Merthyr and Pembrokeshire where we know there is a healthy appetite for Swansea City.

So, how can we broadcast the Manchester United game across Wales? Well, the exception to the rule is when the game is broadcast across the UK by the BBC (ie, on either 5Live or 5Live Sports Extra). Then we’re able to replicate that across Wales. We’ll do that on as many frequencies as possible. In fact, the only thing that’ll stop it being on all frequencies is either Cardiff, Newport or Wrexham playing at the same time.

All of this also applied to Cardiff last season. Relegation to the Championship has meant those restrictions have eased for everything other than online. Which means if Cardiff are the only team playing you’ll be able to hear that game across Wales. If everyone is playing you’ll be able to hear Cardiff on FM and DAB in southeast Wales.

Cardiff are two divisions higher than Newport County, so get first dibs on those local FM and DAB frequencies. However Newport fans will be able to hear County on AM when Cardiff are playing, or FM and DAB in the south east when they aren’t.

Wrexham games home and away meanwhile are available on FM across north Wales and DAB in north east Wales. When DAB becomes available in the northwest (hopefully in the next six months), that will also carry commentary of the Dragons.

Liberty Stadium, Swansea. Home of the Ospreys and Swansea City football club.

Being a Conference side, Wrexham are the only team we have online rights for. So were you to listen to Radio Wales Sport online on a Saturday afternoon, it would be Wrexham commentary you’d be listening to.

So as you can see, it’s enough to get our engineers reaching for the paracetamol. But before they do, there’s one final bit of soldering to be done: by October, we’re planning to make the biggest game of the day (that we have all-Wales rights for) available on our Digital TV channels plus our usual updates on Welsh Premier League games.

Find out more about how the plan specifically affects your team or your part of Wales.