A GILWERN man recently became the proud owner of a number nine Barbarians shirt signed by all of the 'magnificent seven' players who were involved in Gareth Edwards's legendary 1973 try against New Zealand.

Gwent Police Officer and businessman Steve Bull, accompanied by his brother Andrew, attended a charity dinner event on Friday, October 25 at the Mecure Holland House in Cardiff.

The event was organised by the Welsh Charitables RFC and reunited the seven men (Phil Bennett, JPR Williams, John Pullin, John Dawes, Tom David, Derek Quinnell and Gareth Edwards ) who were involved in what is regarded by many as the greatest try ever.

Over 500 guests got the chance to spend the evening in the company of seven of the Barbarians who discussed that famous try and 23-11 victory over the All Blacks 40 years ago.

Proceeds from the event went to five Welsh charities including, St Anne's Hospice, the Welsh Former International Players Benevolent Association, Ty Hafan, the Princes Trust Cymru and St David's Hospice Care.

Former Wales fly-half and commentator Cliff Morgan who passed away earlier this year, perfectly encapsulated the drama and theatre of the try with his fondly celebrated verbal flow of, "This is great stuff, Phil Bennett covering, chased by Alistair Scown, brilliant, oh',that's brilliant, John Williams, Brian Williams, Pullin, John Dawes, great dummy, David Tom David, the halfway line, brilliant by Quinnell, this is Gareth Edwards a dramatic start what a score! Oh, that fellow Edwards."

Later that evening an auction was held for various rugby memorabilia and Steve managed to fight of his fellow bidders and win a number nine Barbarians shirt signed by all members of the 'magnificent seven'.

Steve told the Chronicle, "Obviously the number nine shirt is synonymous with the name of Gareth Edwards, so that makes it a little more special and adds a deeper significance.

"It was such a great experience for me and Andrew to be in the room with true greats of the game. I grew up idolising those Welsh players of the 1970s. It was a true golden age of rugby and to come away from the evening with a signed shirt that signifies so much and is such an important part of rugby history, is a great souvenir of the occasion."

On the night, Steve, who used to play inside centre for the Metropolitan Police rugby team, had to outbid a telephone bidder to win the shirt and although he won't disclose exactly how much the winning bid was, he revealed, "Let's just say I had a little bit of help from my brother and we're talking thousands of pounds rather than hundreds, but it's nice to know that all that money will now be going to charity."

After the bid, Steve and his brother also got to meet the players before returning home.

Steve explained, "I now plan to have the shirt boxed alongside the program I also own from the 1973 game. My bother's emigrating to Australia soon, so in years to come it'll be a nice memento of a great night spent in the 'Land of our Fathers' and in the company of rugby legends."