The brilliant story behind pictures of Aaron Wainwright and a policeman after Wales v England

An American writer once noted: “I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.”

For a few days back in 2018, Aaron Wainwright’s dad could have been forgiven for feeling he had gone one better than the individual quoted above.

Adrian Wainwright’s intercontinental hike took him to Washington DC then onto to Argentina via Brazil before an internal flight and finally a three-hour bus trip to make it to Wales’ team hotel in San Juan.

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The travel time amounted to 44 hours, all in the hope of seeing his boy make his Wales debut.

Nothing was guaranteed.

At the time Wainwright junior – who tore it up against England on Saturday with arguably his best Test display – was a 20-year-old new to the international big time.

He had received a late call for the tour of the Americas which would take in a clash in the USA against South Africa and two Tests against the Pumas in Argentina.

“I didn’t think I’d get any game-time,” Aaron told the Welsh Rugby Union’s website. “I thought I was travelling with the team for a bit of experience as a young player to get into the groove of things.”

Wainwright the Younger thought wrong. Warren Gatland included him on the bench for the game with the Springboks amid a real chance he could make his first Wales appearance. Cue an urgent telephone call home. “I let my parents know just before the team was publicly announced and straight away my dad said: ‘Happy days! I’ll come over.’

“There was no chance he was going to miss me possibly winning my first cap.”

Except it wasn’t to be just then. Wales tried to get him onto the pitch in a game they won 22-20, but no opportunity presented itself and time ran out.

Potentially, his father’s long haul trip had been in vain. So many miles and hours, yet the moment that he could treasure for the rest of his life seemed to have eluded him. “He’d come all the way out to Washington just to see me sit on the bench, and now he was going to be flying home,” reflected Aaron.

To his credit, Adrian put on a brave face, reassuring his boy that he’d enjoyed the experience, anyway, and it had been nice to see him in the team environment. He insisted it was good enough for him.

Happily, fate then looked up, with the possibility that the journey might yet prove worthwhile in the way father and son truly wanted, with Aaron picked on the bench for the first Test in Argentina. “Straight away Dad told me he was coming over again,” Aaron recalled. “I didn’t really know what to say. I didn’t want to tell him ‘don’t come over in case I don’t get on again’, so before I knew it he’d booked time off work and his flights.”

Cue the journey from hell.

With bells on.

Aaron added: “He had to take three flights: first to Brazil, then on to Argentina, before taking an internal flight to where we were staying. On top of all that, it was a three-hour bus journey between the airport and San Juan.”

But Aaron got on the field in San Juan, helping Wales to a 23-10 win. It was the sweetest reward for a father’s perseverance and determination to witness in the flesh one of the biggest moments of his son’s life.

Fast-forward five years and No. 8 Aaron is being feted after his display against England. One writer tipped him to be one of Wales’ most important World Cup players amid doubts over Taulupe Faletau. Someone else called his performance against England “sensational”.

Adrian, a policeman, was working the match at the Principality Stadium on Saturday as a police officer and had a brilliant set of photos taken with his son, which will be a permanent record showing the culmination of the journey the two have been on together.

Doubtless, dad Adrian, a barnstorming back rower for Caerphilly and Newport back in the day and a Wales Under-21 player to boot, would be beyond proud.

And a trip to France for the World Cup? Presumably, that goes without saying.