51¹ú²úÊÓƵ

When the Welsh rugby team take on the All Blacks in Cardiff this weekend, sport historians will cast their minds back 100 years to a pivotal moment in Welsh history. It was then that Wales became the only team to beat the New Zealand tourists.

It was this victory, says Gareth Williams of Glamorgan 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ's Centre for Modern and Contemporary Wales, that established rugby union as the national sport of Wales. He told the Historians on Sport annual symposium held at De Montfort 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ this week: 'As a unifying, inclusive cultural force, it outstripped politics and religion, drawing together coal-heavers and coal-owners in a common passion'