First Minister 'enjoys' English sport flops

The English may pride themselves on being gentlemanly losers but they draw the line at being reminded of their failures, particularly by one of their old Welsh rivals.

Rhodri Morgan, Wales's First Minister, found himself in the middle of a racism row yesterday when he appeared to gloat over England's inglorious summer of defeat.

Mr Morgan said he was not upset by Tim Henman's ejection from Wimbledon or England's World Cup defeat at the hands of Brazil. Furthermore, he went on to deny the nation its reputation for being dignified and sporting, insisting the English were "triumphalist" in victory and "not good losers".

The First Minister, who conceded he reluctantly backed England in the World Cup because of Michael Owen's links to his homeland, went on to take a shot at the country's cricket team. Speaking to the Welsh newspaper, The Western Mail, he criticised the attitude after the England cricket team's recent defeat at the hands of Wales and went on to say he was dreaming of a Welsh victory over England in the 4x400m relay at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

Mr Morgan – who admittedly has been known to be equally uncharitable about his nation's sports bosses, insisting they were "drinking in the last chance saloon" – drew a furious response from Conservatives.

The Welsh Conservative leader, Nick Bourne, said: "This is a diluted sense of racism on Rhodri Morgan's part. It is an attempt to try to consolidate his cheeky chappy image.

"Of course, the public in Wales wants to see Welsh teams performing well and winning competitions. But if that doesn't happen then I see no mileage in slamming teams just because they are English."

Mr Morgan later defended his comments: "The people of Wales know me well enough to know that I am passionate about sport and, naturally, I want Wales to win whenever they take the field.

"I would never begrudge England victory in sporting events, nor do I revel in their defeat. I'm right behind them in the current one-day cricket series."