Wonderful day!

Okay, we are 'celebrating' no more than another defeat and, as All Blacks of yesteryear said until defeating Wales became commonplace, 'You never beat Wales, you only score more points than them.'

But that was some game on Saturday, some effort, so, so close and played in a stadium which has at long last drawn the worldwide accolades it deserved from day one.

For the Millennium Stadium is THE finest in world rugby, New Zealanders at the weekend were dumbstruck at its sheer majesty, and the closing of the roof only added to its aura.

It deserved what it got, a jam-packed record crowd of 74,024 providing a unique atmosphere, completely wrapped up in the occasion, responding magnificently to the dignified, though emotional, response of opera singer Wynne Evans to the haka.

And the game that followed justified the occasion. I eulogised about it in yesterday's match report, but I was by no means alone and I'll quote two former Argus reporters now with the Daily Telegraph.

"Once the dust has settled on this seismic encounter the rugby historians will almost certainly decree it was the best of the lot," wrote Brendan Gallagher.

"In terms of spectacle, excitement and entertainment, it would be almost impossible to better this magnificent contest, easily the noisiest and best seen at the world's greatest rugby stadium since it opened five years ago...this was a game and a half."

Martin Johnson, that wittiest of all columnists, added his own distinct touch, "Wales are finally clearing their throat to sing rather than cough with embarrassment, and rugby is all the better for it."

With England next in Wales' first game in the Six Nations on February 5 and the Welsh nation in full revivalist spirit there could be more of the same to follow.

No wonder Welsh Rugby Union chief David Moffett is licking his lips, talking to anyone who cares to listen about ticketing policy being justified, about the level of support - though sorting out the troubles with Newport Gwent Dragons appears a far stiffer hurdle than filling the stadium.

But there is no question he does have the best stadium in world rugby on his hands, and, for what it's worth for he needs no encouragement, then Moffett and his colleagues can't possibly sell it as some have advocated because of the huge debt, though the terms of that are being renegotiated.

For the stadium is a national treasure, it's a national asset and to get rid of it, to put it in someone else's hands would be like selling the birthright.

Not only is the stadium unique in its design and in its atmosphere, but it's city centre location is also unparalleled. Nowhere else in world rugby is there such a stadium situated in the middle of its capital city, not in England, Scotland, Ireland, France, South Africa, Australia or New Zealand - they're all out of town, so to speak, a train ride, bus ride or stiff walk away and, in New Zealand's case, with barely half the capacity either.

Nowhere else can you get off a train or bus or get out of your car and almost fall into the stadium. Yet the consideration it gets from the city's rulers, from the Welsh Assembly is little short of scandalous.

Big match day brings in hundreds of thousands of pounds to the city, to hotels, bars, restaurants, shops, street traders, vendors, you name it they all make money on the day.

And the profile the city gets worldwide on an occasion like Saturday does wonders for the tourist trade, too, but still the WRU get scant recompense from local and national government.

They still have to pay astronomical amounts to the city coffers when they ought to be receiving massive rebates for all the benefits they bring.

On a slighly less audible note, it can't have escaped fans that the four Welsh regions lost at the weekend which hardly indicates that all is well below the surface.

A promising start by the Dragons appears to have been frittered away for one reason or another. A Heineken Cup defeat at home has been followed by the loss of the Rodney Parade unbeaten league record and successive league defeats.

If they can't beat Edinburgh at home then they can hardly expect to win on Sunday in Galway against Connacht, conquerors of Neath Swansea Ospreys at the Gnoll two days ago. Another setback would make it an unprecedented three league defeats in a row.

Things have clearly gone wrong, while Newport fans are complaining they rarely see their side at Rodney Parade any more either because their game is called off to protect the pitch in favour of the Dragons or it's switched to the away ground for the same reason.

And they say some young Newport players are training twice a week with the club and region while still pursuing their studies but not getting the opportunity to play at Rodney Parade.

They have a case, and so do the club and region in the treatment they receive. Rival clubs (and the WRU?) appear to delight in landing them in it, even some from within Gwent, so that they get deducted three points.

And the Dragons are still not being paid by the WRU while directors Tony Brown and Martyn Hazell continue to dig deep because the Union won't pay the Dragons as the region the governing body say they are. Let's have a bit of fair play all round.