Dylan Thomas Birthplace / Family Home 5 Cwmdonkin Drive, Swansea, Wales, UK

Rugby is very much part of Welsh life but Dylan was never known to be much of a fan – cricket was his sport – well, watching it was!

He spent many hours at St Helen’s Ground watching Glamorgan and became great friends with the great cricket commentator John Arlott. Arlott was also a radio producer and used Dylan for many performances on the BBC World Service.

He’s on record as saying that Dylan was always borrowing money from him but always paid him back – except once – he borrowed £5 to go to America. It turned out to be Dylan’s last trip from which he sadly never returned.

Dylan’s other sport was running and he carried a press cutting of a photograph of him winning the Swansea Grammar School mile race in his wallet until his death. Dylan Down the Ups  this year will commemorate that event with a special charity mile event in October.

Anyway, back to rugby and tonight I’ve just come back from watching a pulsating and close match in which the Ospreys beat the Scarlets 28-17 at Swansea’s Liberty Stadium. In Dylan’s day rugby was an open spectacle with hardworking forwards and fast running backs. Today it is dominated by aimless high kicks and the unsightly scene of piles of players grovelling on the floor around a ball which none of them are supposed to touch when on the ground!

This poor pastiche of Rugby League is turning many people away from watching the game – hardly surprising!