Mr Gething made history by becoming the first black leader of any European country when he won the race to take over as First Minister of Wales from Mark Drakeford. After mixing with children representing a number of ethnically diverse and Assisted Learning Needs schools, some from his own constituency in Cardiff South & Penarth, on the hallowed turf, he then joined in the We Soda Inclusion Day Networking even.
This featured panel discussions in the President’s Lounge from the likes of Disability Sport Wales and Action for Children, as well as a Q&A with award-winning Be Xcellence magazine. There was also a reading from a new book on one of Tiger Bay’s greatest sporting heroes, Billy Boston.
“Representation in every part of life really matters. Children themselves see that,” said the First Minister.
“I agreed to come a good while ago and I was a school governor at one of the schools here. But now I get to come here as First Minister and the children get a peek at that as well.
“It’s about seeing something and knowing you can do it too. That matters in sporting life just as it does in politics.
“The children are really excited, I’m not sure that’s because I’m here or because we’re in the Stadium and are having the opportunity to run onto the same pitch as international players. You want them to be excited about the future, to make them believe they can do something special and that’s so important to how we get to be a better country in the future.
“I read the Billy Boston book to a group of children in St Mary The Virgin School. The great thing is that, within that school, there is someone who lives at the same address that Billy Boston himself grew up in.
“It gives them all those links back to him so they can say ‘this is who I am too, and I can be part of helping to make the future of the country’. I think that is a really important, positive message for all.”
Billy Boston is one of the greatest sporting idols to come out of Tiger Bay and is now immortalised on a three-figure statue in Cardiff Bay, along with fellow rugby league legends Gus Risman and Clive Sullivan. He is believed to be the first black player to play for any Welsh representative rugby union team when he played for Wales Youth against France on 29 March 1952.
“I hope events like these show the changing face of Welsh rugby. When you look at who we are as a country, not just the city of Cardiff, we look different to 20, 40 and 100 years ago. I see that as a real positive. There are people who looked like me through the history of Wales at different points in time and we are very much part of the country’s future,” he added.
“When I look at the people on the pitch here today, people recognise this is what Cardiff schools look like and it can be reflected on the pitch as well.
Glen Webbe in action for Wales in 1987
“When I was a child watching rugby, Glen Webbe was unusual – he stood out in the team. You could not now imagine a Welsh rugby team with a matchday 23 being all-white.
“That isn’t because someone has made a political choice, it is a recognition of the talent there is and wanting to see it thrive. That’s where I want us to be not just on the rugby and football pitch, but across the whole country.
“The picture will continue to change, but just think about our boy Mackenzie Martin who has got into the side recently. The fact he is from Ely is what people have been talking about, not the fact he is not white.
“He’s a big unit with loads of ability and I hope people see him as a role model in exactly the same way as he saw Taulupe Faletau as a role model when he was growing up.
“I really think it makes a difference thinking you emulate people who you admire. It is his talent and hard work that has got Mackenzie to where he is.”
Mackenzie Martin in action against France in the 2024 Six Nations
The First Minister kicked-off a full day of events at Principality Stadium that included games for a military veteran hub group, a mixed ability fixture between Port Talbot Panthers and Colwyn Bay Stingrays and an International Gay Rugby clash between Cardiff Lions and Wrecsam Rhinos.
All smiles after the Mixed Ability game between Port Talbot Panthers and Colwyn Bay Stingrays
It all fitted into the 10-day rugby extravaganza that is the ‘Road to Principality 2024’ project hosted and underwritten by the WRU at their home in the heart of the Welsh capital. Among the organisers was Liam Scott, these days Head of Equality, Diversion and Inclusion at the WRU.
“The First Minister is a great advocate of the work we are doing and was keen to be here with us to experience what we are doing,” said Scott.
“This is the culmination of an annual programme of work that is aimed at reflecting the changing society in which we live in. We are trying to send a message that rugby is the national sport of Wales and that Principality Stadium is the national stadium of Wales.
“We’ve given the groups involved in our EDI day to come onto the same pitch that only a week earlier the Wales national team was playing on and to enjoy the experience. Lots of the children we’ve worked with all over the year joined us and I hope they discovered that Welsh rugby is a broader church these days than perhaps it was in the past.
“Society as a whole is changing drastically, not just here in Wales but across the world, and we have to ensure we are at the forefront of that through our offerings both on and off the field. We want to ensure that people’s experiences in terms of their connection to Welsh rugby are in line with a modern-day Wales.
“Across our community inclusion strategy and our EDI plan, we have a number of pillars – people living in low socio-economic area, people of diverse background, mixed ability and disabled participants and our LGBGTQ+ community.
The Cardiff Lions and Wrecsam Rhinos teams after the International Gay Rugby Fixture
“This was a celebration of all that work. We started off with our diverse schools programme, followed by disabled groups taking part in all sorts of rugby activities. Then we had the military veterans representing the social isolation groups, who tried the new World Rugby non-contact game T1, a Mixed Ability match and finally the International Gay fixture at the end of the day.
“For us, it is all about showing the breadth and width of our programmes and demonstrating that rugby is for everybody.”
