'I went for Westlife's If I Let You Go': How Sam Parry celebrated first Wales cap
Sam Parry readily admits he thought the prospect of playing for Wales had probably passed him by. But the 28-year-old Ospreys hooker could be closing in on a Test starting place after impressing as a second-half substitute when Wales lost to France behind closed doors in Paris last Saturday.
With Ken Owens a long-term injury absentee and World Cup squad member Elliot Dee having dropped down the pecking order, Saturday’s selection to face Guinness Six Nations opponents Scotland appears a straight fight between Parry and Ryan Elias.
Parry’s Test debut at Stade de France was among the brighter moments for Wales as they slipped to a 38-21 defeat, and he is determined to build on that experience. “It didn’t matter if there were 80,000 there or no one, it would still have been the same feeling. I’m really happy,” Parry said.
“To be fair, I probably let playing for Wales go and looked forward to playing for the Ospreys and putting everything into that. Luckily, I got my chance and hopefully I can build on that.
“It was about just enjoying the moment. I probably thought this had passed me by, but to get named in the squad was good. You do the training and you hope to get selected. Then I got named on the bench, so I was really excited about that.
“Then it was just about enjoying the build-up during the week. After that, on game-day, it’s about being ready when you get the call to go on. When you get one cap and experience that feeling, you want as many as possible, to be honest.”
Although there was no crowd due to restrictions because of the coronavirus pandemic - including no travelling family members - Parry and fellow Wales debutant Louis Rees-Zammit still enjoyed a cap presentation to remember, including singing a song in front of the squad.
“Gethin (Jenkins, the ex-Wales prop and current national squad technical coach) presented my cap for me. It was a special moment,” Parry added. “He is obviously a Welsh legend – we all know how good a player he was – and it was special to receive it from him.
“Luckily, the (Wales) media team sorted a Zoom call with my family, and they were able to see into the changing rooms and watch the presentation and watch me sing my song. I went for Westlife’s ‘If I Let You Go’.
“It’s a hell of a stadium. I had never been there before, but I always wanted to go, and it was awesome to experience it. It would have been better with a full crowd, but it wasn’t really about that, it was more taking the field and finally getting to play for Wales.”
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Think it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
Go to commentsJust came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
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