A Sad Day For Welsh Sports Fans

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 15 November 2007 20:51:25

Today saw the funeral of one of Wales' great rugby players - Ray Gravell. He was one of the memorable players from the 70's glory years. A Welsh cap, a member of the Llanelli team that beat the All Blacks in '72 and a British Lion.

I remember shouting my lungs out at several Welsh internationals in Cardiff, as well as many on TV, in which he played. He was always a giant of a man on the pitch. Yet, by all accounts, he was just as memorable off it; whether talking to young players or people away from the game.

Nigel Davies, another Welsh international, was talking on the radio ths morning about the first time he met Grav. Grav approached and said: "Hello, I'm Gravell the living legend".

I remember watching him on Y Clwb Rygbi on S4C. Unfortuantely I don't speak a word of Welsh but there was still something about his presence that made him stand out. Even when he was interviewing players and coaches in the stand you could see the respect they had for him. I remember him interviewing coaching staff from Cardiff in the stands at Pontypool during a cup match a few years ago. Even with play going on I still kept looking over to watch him.

As befits a "Living Legend", thousands turned out to say goodbye to him at Strady Park today. As I say a fond Nos Da (Thanks for the spelling correction) to a boyhood hero, I leave you with these words:

Historian Hywel Teifi Edwards told the service: "Stories will be told about him with gusto in years to come by people who never met him, and I'm quite convinced that stories were fashioned with Grav in mind centuries ago".