Psychologists rave about the potential health benefits that uplifting moments can bring, even to those who are watching them.
And so we rewind to a try by a Welsh youngster that must rank as one of the most memorable solo touchdowns of 2022. It was a reminder that rugby can be breathtaking without necessarily seeing the breath knocked out of someone.
Sir Alex Ferguson would have enjoyed. The legendary former Manchester United football manager once reckoned that when Ryan Giggs ran at defenders he gave them twisted blood.
Iwan Pyrs-Jones was on the same beat playing for Wales in the World Sevens Series against France.
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Just 18 at the time, he seemed to be heading only for touch after receiving a pass. With cover around him, there appeared little danger to the opposition.
But then the script took an improbable turn as Pyrs-Jones pushed down hard on the brakes before venturing into a spin that took him clear of one defender.
The man’s blue-shirted mate came across, only to be wrong-footed by a step to the left and then another to his right that deposited him on his backside. The first defender had regrouped but to no effect as a second step left saw him fall to the turf as well, vainly throwing out an arm as he did so.
True, it wasn’t defence that Shaun Edwards would have signed off. But sometimes it’s the attacker who deserves credit, and those on TV commentating duty at the event didn’t shirk their obligations in that respect. “The young man’s got beautiful dancing feet - Fred Astaire take a bow!” raved one man with a mic at the Singapore event. “Eighteen years old! That is special.”
His pal said: “Iwan Pyrs-Jones has put on an absolute clinic. In about a 10-metre square box he beats Frenchman after Frenchman. Look at that step off the left — two of them. Phil Bennett would be proud of those, and then the finish.”
France won the game 38-12, but much of the talk later was about the game’s moment of magic. One tweet spoke of the "absolutely ridiculous" footwork of the youngster. Born in Haiti and raised in north Wales and then Cardiff, Pyrs-Jones came to attention while playing in the Welsh Schools & Colleges League. He was drafted into the Cardiff age-grade set-up via Llandaff RFC and has featured for Pontypridd in the Welsh Premiership Cup.
At 5ft 10in and 12st 10lb, he isn’t the biggest but he’s quick and, as the France Sevens team will now be aware of, a star turn with a picture-book step off each foot. Oh and he’s apparently a gent to go with it. “A lovely kid,” is how a media man who regularly covers Indigo Group Premiership rugby describes him. “He’s affable, courteous and down to earth. You could not wish to meet a nicer lad.”
On the evidence in Singapore earlier this year, we could be hearing a lot more about him.
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