A nation's emotions thrown into turmoil
The wreckage of the Tudor V aircraft that crashed near Cardiff in 1950 killing 80 people
© South Wales Police Museum
1950
Welsh joy at winning the Triple Crown for the first time in 39 years evaporated when a Tudor V aircraft carrying 78 Welsh fans and five crew crashed killing 80 people. The plane was returning from Wales' 6-3 victory over Ireland in Dublin the day before where tries from Malcom Thomas and Ken Jones had secured victory for the visitors. The crash, which at the time was the worst in the history of civil aviation, happened just yards from the outskirts of the Llandow (Glamorgan) aerodrome. Among the many dead were five members of Llanharan RFC including Henry Pascoe, nephew of former Welsh international forward Dan Pascoe. In addition, Abercan RFC lost their captain Don Rowlands, coach Ray Box and star centre Doug Burnett who was the brother of Roy the Newport and Wales outside half. The reason for the crash was never pinpointed, pilot error being the most logical, however a contributory factor could have been improper loading of the plane which shifted the centre of gravity. The owners, 'Fairflight Ltd' were found guilty on November 2, 1950 of contravening the aircraft's certificate of worthiness and were fined £50 and ordered to pay £100 costs.
2011
On the penultimate weekend of the Six Nations Wales took adavantage of a refereeing blunder as they beat Ireland 19-13 in hugely controversial circumstances at the Millennium stadium.
Mike Phillips' crucial try should have been disallowed after Wales used the wrong ball to take a quick lineout, but Irish protests were waved away by referee Jonathan Kaplan and Wales edge a narrow win.
2005
Mark Cueto's try hat-trick in England's 39-7 Twickenham win against Italy gave head coach Andy Robinson reason for optimism after a sequence of four Test losses. "We're building, moving forward," a relieved and pleased Robinson told reporters after the game, "and that was a step in the right direction."
1949
Ireland's first win at Swansea (5-0) since 1889 brought them back-to-back Triple Crowns. The victory over Wales followed a 14-5 victory over England at Lansdowne Road and a 13-3 success at Murrayfield against Scotland.
1938
Cliff Jones, legendary Welsh fly-half of the thirties, captained his side to an 11-5 win against Ireland on his 24th birthday and announced his retirement shortly afterwards. Jones played 13 times for Wales in an injury-plagued career that spanned his debut against England in 1934 to the victory at Swansea. In 1935 he was famously selected to face the All Blacks, breaking the schoolboy half-back pairing of Hayden Tanner and Willie Davies who had steered Swansea to victory over the tourists, and he repaid that faith by playing a key role in a thrilling 13-12 victory.
1921
Wales beat Ireland 6-0 in the last international staged on the Balmoral Showground in Belfast. Ireland played a total of 11 internationals at the ground between the 8-0 defeat to Scotland in 1898 and the final loss to Wales. Ireland's overall record at the ground was played 11, won 4, lost 7.
1887
Wales beat Ireland at Birkenhead - a venue chosen to minimise travelling costs for a then impoverished Irish Rugby Union.
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