Terence Matthews vs. King Arthur's ghost
The Kanata tycoon wants to set up a rugby
academy on historic ground in his native Wales. The
plan pits the Welsh love of the game against a
passion for history. Aileen McCabe and Joanne
Laucius report.
Aileen McCabe and Joanne Laucius
The Ottawa Citizen
High-tech magnate Terence
Matthews is up against otters
and the ghost of King Arthur in
his bid to build a rugby
academy in Wales.
Mr. Matthews' proposal to
donate land in the fertile River
Usk valley to the Welsh Rugby
Union as a site for an ambitious
$17.5-million Centre for Rugby
Excellence has resulted in a
clash between two of Wales'
great national passions -- rugby
and its own past.
The rugby-mad Welsh might be
expected to ignore almost
anything for the centre, which
would include a new stadium
and six full-size pitches floodlit
after dark.
But the Welsh passion for
history appears to be putting
the brakes on the plan for what
the British press is calling the
"rugby college."
About one quarter of the tiny
statelet is designated a national
park or area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and much of the rest of the craggy
landscape is littered with ruins.
The 11-hectare rugby site near Newport sits next to Caerleon, a major Roman
ruin that has long tantalized the Welsh with its dramatic history and its reputed
links to the legendary King Arthur.
Caerleon is the site of the so-called "round table," a grass-covered hollow that
excavations about 75 years ago proved to be the remains of a Roman
amphitheatre. The city was originally the Roman fortress of Isca Silurum, home
of the Second Augustan Legion.
Caerleon is mentioned by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his 12th century History of
the Kings of Britain.
According to Geoffrey, a river flowed by Caerleon. The city, flanked by
meadows and groves, had palaces and gold-painted gables that rivalled the
splendour of Rome.
Caerleon was one of King Arthur's main residences, and the church of St. Julius
in the city was where Queen Guinevere, the king's wife, died, according to the
Arthurian legend.
The area is also said to be the site of a hidden cave where, according to the
legend, King Arthur lies in death with his knights, awaiting the call to ride again.
Meanwhile, environmentalists charge that the rugby centre would endanger a
wildlife habitat of international importance.
The River Usk, a tidal river, is home to breeding salmon, otters and rare birds,
and has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is also due to
become a European Special Area of Conservation.
Opposition to the rugby academy scheme is mounting.
Cliff Hegan, a rugby fan who lives near the development, is the leader of a group
that's trying to stop it.
"Our concern is that Terry Matthews is using the Welsh Rugby Union -- one of
the most emotive subjects in Wales -- in order to get planning permission to build
next to the Usk. Once a precedent is set, he can build up and down the river,"
Mr. Hegan told The Times of London.
Mr. Matthews already owns the 400-room Celtic Manor Hotel and Convention
Centre, complete with a spa and three golf courses, which is adjacent to the
proposed rugby site. Across the road is Newbridge Networks' European
headquarters.
A spokesman for Mr. Matthews said the plans would have a minimal impact and
the centre will do Wales and rugby a favour.
"Mr. Matthews has offered the site because he wants to help the sport,"
spokesman Steve Howell said.
"The beauty of the Usk Valley is extremely important to Celtic Manor -- after all,
we want to attract people here."
Mr. Matthews was born in an old manor house, then a nursing home, on the
grounds of what is now Celtic Manor.
When he next saw the manor, all boarded up, he bought it and the surrounding
560 hectares of land.
Last fall, Mr. Matthews, who professed to be too busy for golf himself,
predicted that the site, only 90 minutes from Heathrow airport, would be "a
magnet for golf."
At the time, he also predicted that the rugby centre would bring on young players
and improve the game. "I feel pretty good about that," he said.
A spokeswoman for the new Welsh National Assembly said the independent
environmental and archeological assessment that local pressure forced Mr.
Matthews to carry out is currently under way and could turn up indications of a
possible major archeological find.
Some suspect that it will be the civilian village that supported the second legion
camp, which has already been uncovered.
The town council of Newport is likely to refer the assessment report to the
Welsh historic monuments society, for help in drawing up specific planning
regulations for the site.
However, the assessment report won't be completed until next year. Until then,
no one will have a real idea of what actually lies hidden beneath the soil.
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