Grand slam radio wales documentary british comedy guide. Out of the rubble of their rugby world cup, wales are grand slam champions once again. What happened to wales grand slam winning side of 1978. Browse historical events, famous birthdays and notable deaths from mar 18, 1978 or search by date, day or keyword. A group of welsh rugby fans descend on paris for the final game of the season. Two disc official collectors edition over four hours championship action. All blacks first grand slam victory over all four home unions a grand slam was the holy grail for any all black team touring the british isles. The film was first shown on 17 march 1978, with filming taking place a year earlier. Real life rugby stars gerald davies, jpr williams, and phil bennett also put in appearances. The major tournaments that now make up the grand slam have changed. Made by bbc, the picture is not as good as id like it to.
This film is not currently playing on mubi but 30 other great films are. Six nations winners list rugby hospitality packages. Get the huge collection of 1978 grand slam sports cards online at beckett. Four men, members of a welsh rugby union club, fly to paris as part of a weekend outing to see wales play france in the five nations championship match that will decide the grand slam title.
Winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. The play was written for television by gwenlyn parry and thenhead of drama for bbc wales, john hefin. A group of welsh fans travel to paris to watch their heroes in action, and cause a ruck to match any constructed on the pitch. When they went to paris to take on the french they were. A group of welsh rugby fans go over to see wales play france in the final match of the six nations rugby. A grand slam tour is one in which a touring national team from australia, new zealand, or south africa plays test matches against all four home nations england, ireland, scotland and wales.
During the course of the film we discover that grand slam can mean different things to different people and that there are challenges that have to be faced off the pitch that are almost more daunting than those facing the players on the pitch. This film plays out the events occurring to the crew as they hope to catch the seasons last game. A welsh rugby fan hugh griffith looks for an old flame while he and his mates are in france to see their countrys team play in a tournaments final match. Four men, members of a welsh rugby union club, fly to paris as part of a. A grand slam was therefore available in a total of 97 seasons to date. Will wales achieve rugbys grand slam again this season. Join a live hosted trivia game for your favorite pub trivia experience done virtually. If a virtual private party is more your thing, go here for details.
Windsor davies plays mog the tour leader,oscar winner hugh griffith plays ii world war veteran mr. Each year the teams compete for one of the most prestigious titles in the game of rugby, european champions. Most of the film is filmed in paris and it uses real footage from the game to give us. Between january 1975 and march 1978 the then swansea rfc second row geoff wheel had gone 15 games.
A group of welsh rugby fans descend on paris for the final game of the. Subscribe to baseball online price guide and get the latest and accurate values of cards. One of the party is funeral director caradog lloydevans, who briefly served in occupied paris near the end of world war ii. Wales are chasing a grand slam in cardiff against france having clinched a triple crown against ireland in their previous game by four points exactly as they were 30 years ago in march 1978. A group of welsh rugby fans go over to see wales play france in the final match of the six nations rugby tournament. Perhaps the key to the grand slam was the 120 defeat by munster in the fifth game of the tour, four days before the ireland game, the first time in 73 years that an irish team had beaten new zealand. The match that typified our ability to soak up pressure was the 1978 match against ireland in dublin, when we were going for the triple triple crown.
Grand slam is a 1978 sports comedy film produced by bbc wales. Grand slam is a comedy about a crew, who are huge fans of welsh rugby. Bbc sport rugby union six nations wales 3220 ireland. On its 40th anniversary, comedian and film critic gary slaymaker, looks back at waless greatest rugby comedy, grand slam, and reminisces with cast and fans. Welsh rugby was blissfully unaware, but these were. The iconic film grand slam was first aired by the bbc on this day in 1978. Grand slam tv movie 1978 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more.
Grand slam 1978 a welsh rugby fan hugh griffith looks for an old flame while he and his mates are in france to see their countrys team play in a. The film starred oscarwinning actor hugh griffith, windsor davies, dewi pws morris and sion probert. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comic con sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. What happened to the welsh rugbys golden generation who won the grand slam against france in 1978. The dialogue in the film was heavily adlibbed by the cast around a rough outline by the writer and director. Lloydevans and sion probert plays camp boutique owner maldwyn. First broadcast in 1978, grand slam is a periodpiece now, especially in its dated attitudes towards homosexuality and gender construction.
The mysterious disappearance from the wales rugby team of. This film is set around wales attempt to win the rugby union grand slam against france in paris in the mid 1970s. Buy grand slam bbc wales film dvd in 1977 wales had a rugby team that was second to none. The ending was originally planned with wales winning. They defied all the odds and all the doubters to perform a sporting miracle. Wales survived some anxious moments to claim their first grand slam since 1978 with a historic victory in cardiff. The grand slam winners are awarded the six nations trophy as tournament winners, but there is no special grand slam trophy the grand slam is an informal honour recognising a championshipwinning team which has won all their games. French rugby grand slam winners quiz by schweinsteignah. Television film grand slam, a comedy focusing on a group of welsh rugby fans that travel to paris to watch the final match of the season, starred.
He won the grand slam, out matches and was a permanent fixture in the wales team. Grand slam occasions have generally meant glory days in wales. Who a year ago would have said that wales would achieve their first grand slam since 1978. A group of welsh fans travel to paris to watch their heroes in action. The film of welsh rugby supporters travelling to france for a grand slam winning game. This remains my go to film whenever i need cheering up. The film starred oscar winning actor hugh griffith, windsor davies, dewi pws morris and sion probert. See what famous, scandalous and notable sporting events happened in 1978 or search by date or keyword. Maureen connolly in 1953 and margaret court smith in 1970 achieved grand slams among the women.
Going into the french open, he had never won a match at a grand slam event. Among the triumphs was the 1978 grand slam tour of britain, in which he captained the. Grand slam 1978 film wikimili, the free encyclopedia. Now legendary scrumhalf gareth edwards recalls what made wales grand slamwinning rugby team of 1976 such an inspirational force. Mike ruddocks side held their nerve to beat ireland at home for the first time since 1983 and clinch the six nations.
The welsh rugby match against the french in 1977 serves as the backdrop for this sporting comedy. A guide to grand slam, the 1978 bbc one tv comedy drama about welsh rugby fans. Rate 5 stars rate 4 stars rate 3 stars rate 2 stars rate 1 star popular quizzes today. Play sporcle s virtual live trivia to have fun, connect with people, and get your trivia on. Ads anthem arts comedy film haka legends music politics rugby sport taste te reo travel x files. Derek quinnell, gareth edwards, phil bennett and the late ray gravell were all part of wales 1978 grand slamwinning team against france sign up to free email alerts from wales online rugby. This is what right to gwen in perry and director john havens did in 1970 eight four years earlier, this team had established public on the bbcs longest running softball, but now they were. If warren gatlands side are looking for an omen this weekend in their quest for a six nations triumph against ireland on.
Phil bennett squeezes over the line to score for wales in the 1978 grand slam game. For as long as rugby is the welsh national game the film that celebrates it most memorably will be grand slam, made for bbc wales in 1978 by the distinguished director john hefin. Theres a welsh choir president, a south african travel company entrepreneur, and a late film. It was so good to see this gem of a welsh film again after what must be.