Time for our sports heroes to get back on track and act like role models

Dec 8 2007 by Phil Blanche, Western Mail

QUOTE of the week after Gavin went off the rails on the First Great Western came from Adrian Hadley.

“Warren Gatland has talked about breaking the players mentally. That won’t take him long because from what we’ve seen this week there’s nothing much upstairs,” quipped the former Welsh wing on the radio.

It summed up the essential stupidity of an episode that gave punch drunk a whole new meaning. Equally embarrassing was the sight of Lyn Jones’ response – or lack of it – to questions about the alleged incident.

The Ospreys coach is a man who likes to have his tongue in his cheek but it seemed as if it was there quite literally this time, judging by the peculiar faces he was pulling when quizzed by a BBC news reporter.

He claimed to know little about the incident, stressing continually that he only wanted to discuss matters on the pitch rather than off it.

“I’m a rugby coach, and I will speak to him about rugby matters,” he said. Yet if ever there was a moment for a full-on damage-limitation PR response this was it.

The Ospreys is a region that prides itself on its state-of-the-art approach to the professional game, but they were crying out for a spot of 21st-century spin doctoring this week.

It was also disappointing to hear a Welsh coach declare his influence is restricted solely to rugby matters when surely shaping the person as well as the player can only benefit the team.

In setting out what he hopes to achieve with Wales, Gatland has already placed great emphasis on the importance of values, discipline and imbuing players with a sense of responsibility. This is music to the ears of Welsh fans who believe recent underachievement is due to attitude rather than aptitude.

I’m gutted that Gav, a player whose talent affords him the endless benefit of the doubt and who seemed to be maturing nicely, got himself embroiled in such a daft and unpleasant debacle.

No doubt he’ll be back on track – we’re used to the occasional derailment where he’s concerned. But in the post-Corinthian realms of professional sport is it too much to expect players to be role models as well as elite sportsmen?

The life of a professional rugby player lacks the perspective of those who combined sport with an existence in the real world of work and a closer connection to their fan base.

They are now cocooned in a bubble of relentless training, intensive match schedules and promotional work that boosts egos as well as bank balances.

In Wales the contrast between present and past is particularly sharp. We’re a small nation that has always used sport to express a positive identity. As such, we have a fine heritage of role models.

Cliff Morgan, for example, who was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by BBC Wales last week. And what achievement he has squeezed into that lifetime as one of rugby’s true renaissance men.

All is not lost for our current generation of potential role models. At the same ceremony I won the chance for champion cyclist Geraint Thomas to give a motivational talk at my old school.

The 21-year-old is apparently an ace speaker who loves giving something back by speaking to young people. He obviously recognises sporting success comes with responsibility.

After all, it’s not as if we’re demanding paragons of virtue to inspire our kids – just someone you wouldn’t mind sitting next to on the train.