Former Wales captain turned top BBC pundit Jonathan Davies insists there is plenty of room in the country for both rugby and football following the Euro 2016 heroics.
The success of Gareth Bale and Co. in France has led to some fans claiming the round ball is about to bounce the oval one into touch.
But Davies – a dual-code international and neighbour to Wales and Swansea City skipper Ashley Williams – reckons the example of Australia as a true sporting nation is the one Wales should follow.
He said: “I don’t like all this football v rugby debate, as if it’s one or the other. Why can’t it be both? Why can’t it be more than two?
“If you look at Australia, they play all kinds of different sports and excel at most of them. That’s the way Wales should be going.
“The Wales football team have been magnificent. They have inspired everyone in the country and you could argue that getting to the semi-finals of a major football tournament is possibly the greatest-ever achievement in Welsh sport.
“But that doesn’t mean that rugby is now in decline. It just means that the focus shifted this summer.
“We’re a small nation that has often punched above our weight in both sports. But we should celebrate the success of both and not see it as a rivalry.”
Like so many former and current Wales rugby stars, Davies spoke about his pride and admiration for the football during the surge which so nearly took the team to Sunday’s tournament final in Paris.
“When you think of the best in Welsh sport – Grand Slams, Joe Calzaghe unbeaten as a world champion, Ian Woosnam winning the Masters and becoming No.1 golfer in the world, Colin Jackson’s world titles in athletics – the Wales football team might just have topped them all. It’s worth a debate.”
