The Welsh legend tries to make an impossible choice between Taulupe Faletau and Mervyn Davies

One of the roles I have used with pride since retiring as a player is that of chairman of Pontypool Schools Under 11s, the team where young Toby Faletau made his debut.

So, as you can imagine, other managers and managers past and present will have big smiles and a lot of pride when a player who has come through the system with us races to earn his 100th cap for Wales in the game against France.

In addition, Mako and Billy Vunipola were also products of this system, although they accepted a scholarship to Harrow, paid for by an English club, and ended up losing to Wales.

The idea of ​​the three of them joining the Pontypool School under-11s is truly amazing and it was certainly to Wales’ advantage that Taulupe, the best of the trio, decided to remain in the Welsh organisation.

From the first moment he broke into the Wales squad, Faletau showed a talent both in the face of coal and in the wider channels that has rightly marked him as a true world-class number 8 over the years.

Having been lucky enough to play with many of the great Welsh players of the 1970s, I am often asked who is the best of the stars of that era and some of the modern game. The kind of thing that also generates hours of debate among fans.

Taulupe Faletau or Mervyn Davis, the great Merv who gets lost, is one of the questions that arise. To some extent this is unavoidable given that they are two of the greatest No 8’s in Welsh football history.

I always say that it is almost impossible to compare different times, like ours, with the current one. We were amateurs, remember, we had to work 40 hours a week and play rugby, training or playing, as a hobby in our spare time. Hopefully a club or national coach or two will point you in the right direction, but you will generally learn from personal experience or advice from previous generations of players.

Today rugby players eat and sleep and are guided by coaches in all aspects of the game, including strength, fitness and nutrition.

You can’t go forward, you can’t go back, you can’t suddenly ask Taulupe and Merv to play each other to see who’s the best. So I think the best you can do is a thought experiment. Imagine, for example, Gareth Edwards, considered by many to be the greatest player of all time, planning and preparing to play today.

Oh! Or I guess you could say that to every member of the 70’s party.

The big difference that can’t be compared is the size of today’s players, but even in that respect, Merv was a freak of nature. He was six feet tall, athletic, fast, and shot like a basketball player from the line.

We did a lot of tests in practice and one of them was a standing vertical jump where you had to step up and leave your fingerprints on the board above. Merv was three feet tall, much taller than all of us. As always, he was a leader, on and off the field.

Recalling Taulupe’s earlier start at Pontypool’s Under-11 schools and his subsequent advancement, I recalled between teeth with a conversation that took place at a Welsh national team meeting in London at the end of the 1960s when one of them said : “There is not”. 8 plays per second is not very good, but it guarantees you the ball at the end of the line”.

Understatement of the century, perhaps? Within three months, Merv was on trial with Wales, the start of a remarkable career that saw him play 38 consecutive Tests for Wales and a further eight for the Lions. Remember, back then we only played four or five events a year, compared to 12 events a year today. So Merv’s 38-game feat was, in my opinion, the equivalent of Tauloupe’s impressive feat at the Stade de France this weekend. Also remember that you were forced to retire early, otherwise this number would be even higher.

Who will win in France v Wales? Give us your opinion here

When the Lions beat New Zealand in 1971, still the only time, their legendary captain Colin Meads said Merv had the best result in a four test match. Considering the King himself, the great Barry John was widely known as the Lions’ talisman with his own unrivaled radiance emanating from the Mids, a compliment to Merv that really puts his own excellence as a player into perspective.

Let’s go back to Taulupe. When the Lions drew New Zealand in 2017, I remember Zinzan Brooke, a big number 8, saying before the first test that while Faletau was good at everything, he didn’t have enough of an impact in games.

Zinzan had to eat his words, Taulupe was brilliant this round. He spoke on the field, as Merv always did.

Each one of them so good at the base of the fight, so confident with the ball in hand, so dexterous in catching the opponent, so smart in the counterattack. In fact, many times Merv, playing for Swansea against Pontypool, drove us crazy with his habit of just stopping the ball. Like Richie McCaw, he had the ability to slow us down, only to let go when the umpire was about to swing.

Or he just put his body on the ball during the game, ignoring the way we hit and kicked it, which was part of our game at the time. No matter what treatment we prescribed, Merv wouldn’t move. When he did what he wanted, he would simply stand up and smile knowingly, though I shudder to think of what his back actually looked like after our games.

As I said, it’s very difficult to compare times. So the only way to watch Merv vs. Taulupe is through three material things.

One is the Lions Trials number. Taulupe played in five of them over three tours, Merv’s eight in a row against New Zealand and South Africa, and was on the losing side just once. What a record!

Second, while Merv was universally recognized as the best number 8 in the world for many years, I don’t think that was the case for Taulupe, regardless of his brilliance, others cite the arguments of Sergio Parisse, Kieran Read or David Pocock.

English supporters argued with Billy Vunipola. Sadly, Taulupe has always been the better of the two in my eyes.

The third area where they differ is leadership. Taulupe has only captained Wales once, against Italy in 2018, while Merv has been regular captain for Wales, and after our Grand Slam in 1976 he was set to lead the Lions in 1977 until his horrific injury.

Make no mistake, he would also have made a great Lions captain, but let me tell you a few stories about what made Merv such a special leader.

My first race was in Paris in 1975 and when I was young I was close enough to hear enough stories about captains who showed fire and brimstone, they really strengthened the team, commanding personalities. I assumed this would be my first experience with Merv.

We had a meeting with the forwards that morning, Merv was quiet so I figured he was gone before we left the locker room.

It wasn’t long, the blow was getting closer and closer, the others were yelling and screaming for us to keep going, and I looked around to see Merv sitting alone in the corner with a cigarette in his mouth, almost in a world of his own.

Suddenly he pushed the ped on the bench, got up, said “So”, joined us and just said what he wanted. Short and crisp, but it worked. He was an intelligent conversationalist, a strong silent type, but when he spoke you listened.

My first home game was against England at the old National Stadium. We were lined up together in the tunnel and England came out first, just like before. All we could hear was this frantic noise, a mixture of mockery and applause.

It was our turn to go, but Merv made us wait. And wait. And wait. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, and only when the noise had died down to near silence, did Merv bark, “Yes, let’s go.”

The noise when you came out of that tunnel. In an instant, the silence turned into the most incredible noise imaginable. You didn’t need any extra motivation to play for Wales, but trust me, it was a real moment.

Who do you think was better, Merv or Taulupe? Have your say in our comments section below.

You suddenly felt invincible. Merv knew exactly what he was doing, as this simple trick would give us an added advantage.

What a guy, what a player, what a world-class talent. As is the case with Taulupe Faletau, another true legend of No. 8 Wales. Taulup good luck with your 100th title today from across the country including everyone involved in the Pontypool Schools Under 11s.

We are very proud of you.