The fans certainly had something to look forward to. New Zealand had never been beaten before in an international and had beaten Australia, Scotland, Ireland and England in 1905.
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Wales had won the Triple Crown in 1905 and were looking to end a 27-match winning run on their UK tour by Dave Gallacher’s side. They did it as well, triumphing 3-0 thanks to Teddy Morgan’s try.
On that great day in Cardiff special trains had been laid on for spectators and queues formed outside the ground. The Gates opened at 11.00am and by 1.30pm they had to be closed because nobody else could get in.
There were no food or drink outlets, very few toilets and so the fans had to amuse themselves by signing Welsh hymns. Some who couldn’t get in climbed trees to try to get a view of the game.
The teams came onto the field at 2.20pm and Gallacher led his side in the haka. Then Morgan began to lead the Welsh team in singing the Welsh national anthem, ‘Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau’. The WRU committee member Tom Williams had hatched the plan with the Western Mail to sing the anthem before kick-off and it worked splendidly.
The crowd joined in with the players and the All Blacks were stunned at the volume, passion and harmony. It was the first time ‘Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau’ had been sung before a Wales game.
That same passion will be in existence at the Principality Stadium 112 years on this weekend – the volume will be even greater, though, with almost double the number of fans inside.
