WALES star Dan Lydiate insists there will be no divided loyalties at his parents’ farm this weekend as the Six Nations reaches its climax.
His father John is from Manchester and an England fan so was presented with something of a conundrum ahead of the tournament finale.
Does he hope Martin Johnson’s men score a Grand Slam triumph in Dublin or does he want his son to win the Six Nations title against France in Paris?
As is almost always the case blood is thicker than water and dad has decided to put family first.
“My father’s supportive of me but he’s an England fan!” Lydiate said.
“But because I’m involved, I think he’d rather see Wales win the title.”
Choosing who to support these days can be a tricky decision for Lydiate Senior and he hedged his bets when Wales played the old enemy in Cardiff last month, as his son revealed: “When we played England, he sang both the anthems.”
Newport Gwent Dragons flanker Lydiate was born in Salford and lived in the north of England as a young boy.
“My father’s from Salford and my mum Lynne is from Mid Wales,” he said. “They were living up there when I was born and when I was four we moved to Wales.”
Their new home was a 500-acre sheep farm in Powys, 15 miles north of Llandrindod Wells, where they look after 700 lambs.
Such are the demands of agricultural life and the time of the year that Lydiate’s parents and his older brother Jack, a former back rower with Pontypool and Ebbw Vale, won’t be able to make the trip to Paris.
“My parents have been great and right behind me since I started playing, but no they can’t come. They are busy lambing, so it’s all hands to the pump. They are too busy so they’ll have to watch it on the telly,” he said.
And Lydiate, who wins his tenth cap tomorrow evening, said that he loves going back home to help with the family business when he gets a break from rugby.
He said: “When I can, I do work there. It’s nice to go back, it clears my head and it’s nice to get out of the bubble and get back in touch with reality.
“I always feel a lot better when I’ve been up there.”
His unassuming and honest nature off the field mirrors his growing exploits on the field for Lydiate is fast making a reputation for himself as a no-nonsense and highly respected grafter.
Speaking about the challenge that awaits them against a France team licking their wounds after last Saturday’s shock defeat in Italy, the recriminations and a tongue-lashing from coach Marc Lievremont, Lydiate said: “I didn’t see the game last week but I saw that their coach called them cowards. No one wants to be called that.
“There is a bit of disruption in their camp but the boys who’ve come in – and their player base is massive – will be dying to get in a massive performance to put them in good stead for the World Cup.
“It’s going to be a massive encounter for us but we’re feeling really confident and really looking forward to it.”
