RIP Andy Hill

RIP

In 1972 on that grey dank day a team of 15 stood tall and withstood a battering and thuggery to deliver the last Welsh win against the formidable New Zealand. 

Roger Davies, JJ Williams, Roy Bergiers, Ray Gravell, Andy Hill, Phil Bennett, Chico Hopkins, Tony Crocker, Roy Thomas, Barry Llewellyn, Delme Thomas Capt, Derek Quinnell, Tommy David, Hefin Jenkins, Gareth Jenkins.

People band names and superlatives about players today as if its appropriate in this throw away society. But this team were as Aber posted yesterday "standing on the shoulders of Giants."

But this team, THIS TEAM....THESE GUYS, did Llanelly proud and played like real heroes in a time when financial rewards were not the driving motivators...but playing for 20,000 of their neighbours family and friends. In a Town of 50,000 most of us were all there, to watch history that may never be repeated, little did we know how history would cocoon this masterpiece of brilliance, captured in song, in film and smiles of those that were there.

As I've stated so many times it was not my sport, football mad I was , so this game was alien to me. But what grabbed my young heart and soul was being surrounded by my townsfolk , my friends in school, the vastness of the crowd, the singing, the roar and noise of the crowd was like hearing an orchestral symphony blasting into my ears, the noise, oh the roar, was the greatest emotional feeling that stirs the soul......this never leaves you...ever.

And there on the slopping green field were fifteen players in Scarlet and in the distance players in black, looking menacing and mean to me. 

And it kicked off and the noise, the noise.

I remember Bergiers scoring his try after charging down a clearance by All blacks Lin Colling after Benny hit the crossbar from a penalty into play.....Benny kicking the ball over the posts and I remember players being tackled and trambled over, the ball being passed by Chico and the players fighting and holding their own.

But I remember Andy Hill, for me he looked like a football player, elegant and somehow not getting involved in the rough stuff, I thought then I'd like to play where he was and he could kick. Wonderful.

What a player....although that Scarlet side was filled with true Giants, I loved watching Andy, I could be him and I wanted to, what a player, he played 453 matches over 12 years for the Scarlets and amassed 2, 604 points....incredible when you work it out ......he was quick, he was one of our best with 311 tries.....he truly was one of the great Scarlet players .

He kicked a penalty on that day in 1972 which I remember thinking I wish I could kick like that and I spent the rest of my young life watching Andy doing what he did best,  scoring tries and thumping that ball so high and far, he was and will always be one of my Scarlet hero's. 

My deepest condolences to his family and friends and to all who know him personally. 

For me at the beginning of this post I wrote oh no, because that's what I said when I heard he had passed, a piece of my history just left today and I'm cut deep by it.

Memories of events in life never leave us because they are so monumental in their power and stature that picture frames are locked deep inside our thoughts and our own personal journey through time.

Today right now I see a dank October day , a green sloping pitch, 20,000 Welsh people and a superstar in Scarlet running, he was Andy Hill, 

" If I have seen further it is by standing on the Shoulders of Giants"

And he was a true giant..... run free Sir.

There were those who said he was only in the side for his goal kicking, which was tremendously accurate and the round the corner style became popular after years of toe first kicking…but his try scoring, I used to love the  mid week floodlight alliance games with no conversions he held his own is a backline that could put on 10 tries on any opposition in a game