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Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Matthew Southcombe

Dan Lydiate reveals why he was so emotional in Welsh rugby video that's gone viral

Dan Lydiate is usually a pretty placid individual. But sport does funny things to a man.

The Welsh Rugby Union posted a clip on social media last weekend, which showed the reaction of the bench when the final whistle was blown in Bloemfontein, confirming a first ever Welsh victory over the Springboks on South African soil.

Front and centre was a pumped up Lydiate. Such an explosion of raw emotion is a little out of character. It's difficult to describe, but he articulates it as best he can.

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"If you could bottle that feeling and sell it you would not have to work again," he smiles.

"It is hard to put into words, until you are in that moment. It is not just that moment in time, it's what you have worked for as a kid with all those sessions you have done that nobody has seen.

"It's every ounce of your being that you have put into your career and then it's an instant reward as that final whistle goes."

Lydiate adds: "I guess it is like a drug, although I have never done drugs before!

"You can't compare it to anything else. I am passionate about farming but it's completely different! The only other thing you get that much emotion out of is family with your kids and your wife and things like that.

"It is difficult to compare, it's apples and pears, but in the same breath it's all intertwined because they sacrifice a lot for what you do as well."

The emotions are amplified for Lydiate. He was brought back in from the Test wilderness in 2021, only to suffer a serious knee injury early in his return. Questions over whether his Test career was over were valid.

So it makes the highs even higher.

He continues: "Being here has definitely given me a new lease of life. I'm craving that buzz and sometimes that buzz can be few and far between at international level. That feeling I had after the game last week was similar to when we won the Grand Slam in 2012.

"There has been 10 years since but it just shows you how far apart those massive highs you can get in rugby. It is something you always cherish. It's special.

"When I reflect back on 2012, I remember that song Titanium by David Guetta and Sia was playing in the stadium. Whenever I hear that song now, I get goosebumps because it takes me back to that moment."

The 34-year-old was brought to South Africa with a very specific task and his performances have been a throwback to the best days of his career. He has been scything down some pretty large Springboks in some eye-watering collisions.

He has been a key cog in Wales' machine on this trip. But does he still enjoy it?

"It does hurt, I am not going to lie," he laughed.

"That is what I have been picked for years to try and be physical. It does take it out of you but if that's what you are picked to do, that's what I have to do.

"It's all worth it. I have been sore for a few days after that Test last weekend but if we had lost, I would have been a lot more sore.

"I am probably going to have to go a lot harder again this weekend because they will be seething after that loss. They have got a lot of pressure with it being in their own backyard so it will be tougher again this weekend."

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