1963: The inexperienced Clive Rowlands’ first game as Captain of the Welsh rugby team (v. England at Cardiff) was under threat due to the exceptionally cold weather. ‘We weren’t sure if the game would be played,’ Rowlands recalled later. ‘I’m panicking, selected as captain and not certain that I’m going to get to play. The weather was so cold that we didn’t train on the Friday’. The players were issued with gloves and warm woolly underwear. An army of volunteers got the ground playable. The players stayed in the changing rooms while the anthems were played and when they ran onto the pitch the surface was rock hard. ‘They shouldn’t have played it,’ Rowlands admitted, ‘but I’m glad they did because it was my first cap and I may not have got one if the selectors had been given a chance to change their minds’. Wales lost 6-13 but Rowlands went on to captain Wales thirteen more times. (Steve Lewis, The Priceless Gift: 125 Years of Welsh Rugby Captains, Mainstream, 2005)