WALES 34 ENGLAND 21
(at the Arms Park, Cardiff).
Quite simply, this was the Keith Jarrett match. Winning his first cap at the age of 18 years 1 months, the former Monmouth schoolboy not only scored 19 points to equal Jack Bancroft’s effort in 1910, but he also scored a try that almost brought the house down.
And yet few would have ever have selected him at full back again and, thankfully the Wales selectors agreed.
Normally a centre, Jarrett was selected as the last line of defence and his club, Newport, was asked to try him there in the previous week against Newbridge. So bad was he, however, that Newport and Wales skipper David Watkins brought him back to centre at half-time!
Few viewers would later recall that England had closed to be 19-15 behind, when Watkins waved Jarrett deeper and deeper in defence.
The skipper was correct, for when centre Colin MacFadyean kicked deeply, and well, into the Welsh half, it would have carried over a normally positioned full back.
Instead, Jarrett ran into the ball at pace and raced away passed several astonished defenders to touch down in the north-east corner, just when it appeared that he was about to run out of the gates!
Jarrett proceeded to place the conversion from the touchline and TV commentator Bill McLaren quipped: ‘This laddie can do no wrong.’ And he was correct.
Everything had gone right for Jarrett: his first goal kick had struck a post before going over and six more followed, as did four other good tries by Wales and three by England, including two by lock John Barton.
Not that these mattered. It was Jarrett’s day and a debut out of the storybooks, while for Wales it was their biggest win since the 49-14 beating of France 57 years earlier.
Scorers.
Wales – Tries: Gerald Davies 2, Keith Jarrett, Dai Morris, Dewi Bebb. Cons: Jarrett 5. Pens: Jarrett 2. DG: Billy Raybould.
England – Tries: John Barton 2, Keith Savage. Pens: Roger Hosen 4.
