STEP forward today two men who have brought a big smile back to Welsh sport.

They are deservedly right up there in the spotlight for different reasons, but both are basking in the sunshine, and rightly so.

One has proved Wales can beat the best in England and perhaps the rest of the world as well, while the other has catapulted an ailing club right back to the top of the tree.

I am, of course, referring to Glanmor Griffiths and Tony Brown, the former much maligned but coming through all the flak and the latter now something of a folk hero in his adopted town of Newport.

Griffiths has had to take more than his share of criticism from a sceptical media and public ever eager to shoot down people in charge.

Maybe Griffiths does head up a Welsh Rugby Union in urgent need of reform and seemingly unable to cope with professional rugby and its demands, but I've never wavered from the view that a wonderful job has been done on the Millennium Stadium.

It's a magnificent arena, its biggest asset being the closeness of the 72,500 fans to the pitch. No running tracks here.

And the city centre location is unique in the sporting world for a stadium of that magnitude.

It's not out in the suburbs somewhere miles from the middle, devoid of surrounding entertainment.

The WRU were right all along to build the stadium where they did. Now the chickens have come home to roost with the staging of the FA Cup final and the Principality Cup final on successive days.

The weekend proved a roaring success and the stadium has earned glowing reports from all over the world.

One national newspaperman, for example, wrote: "The Welsh know how to build a stadium fit for kings. They know how to do it quickly and efficiently and they know how to do it within budget.

"Its imposing structure, its bewitching atmosphere, were proof of how it should be done."

And for all that Glanmor Griffiths must take a vote of thanks. He's milking it already but there's nothing wrong with that.

Wales can walk tall in the sporting world today thanks to its magnificent Millennium Stadium.

And on the club front Brown is also basking in a bit of glory and how he deserves it.

He has been rewarded for pumping millions of his own money into reviving a Newport club which has now won the cup for the first time for 24 years and for only the second time in its history.

He gambled with his own money he took the decision to invest and it's caught on like wildfire on and off the field.

He vowed to bring Gary Teichmann to Newport and what a bonus that has proved.

The scenes at Rodney Parade after the cup final said it all as the fans were repaid for their massive support this season.

Of course, it's all a team effort and it's about more than two men.

But someone has to head it all up, someone has to take the brave decisions.

That is what makes it all the nicer when those decisions bear fruit.

Which is why Glanmor Griffiths and Tony Brown can take a very big bow.