Wales rugby legend Gravell dies

[traeth]

Wales rugby legend Gravell dies

Ray Gravell excelled as a rugby player, broadcaster and actor
Wales rugby great and BBC presenter Ray Gravell has died at the age of 56.
Gravell won 23 caps for his country and made the 1980 Lions tour to South Africa, playing in all four Tests.
After finishing playing rugby, Gravell carved out a new career as a broadcaster and an actor in both the English and Welsh languages.

this from the BBC ,more here BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | Welsh | Wales rugby legend Gravell dies

Ray came to speak at our rugby club end of season presentation about 12 years ago, I sat next to him , he was a very patriotic Welshman, was very entertaining on the evening , liked his beer and we had trouble keeping him away from the wives and girlfriends of the players. He remembered names of some of the players he had interviewed for a t.v. program 5 years earlier.
He was what I would call "a genuine character"

[Peter Orchard]

Sad.
I remember Gravell playing as I grew up.
If memory serves, he came just after the Bennett\Edwards\Williams era.
56 is no age to be dying is it?

[Peter Orchard]

Mustn´t forget,
and just after the Barry John era too.

Not much footage about but I have a cassette from the golden era and still worth a look if you need reminding what a talented stand-off looks like.

[traeth]

They showed some clips of Ray Gravell on welsh t.v. last nights , most of the action was from Lions tour of South Africa in 1980 plus a few crash ball tries in the 5 nations as it was then . I think it was Ray that christened the saying "get your tackle in early, even if it's late."
He appeared in numerous Welsh language films and t.v. programs . One of the reasons he became so popular in the Welsh speaking areas . Many people have met him or have a story about him.

[traeth]

It has been suggested that the upcoming game between Wales and the Springboks be called "The Gravell Cup" instead of the Prince William Cup.
The Welsh nation has much more respect for Grav and very,very little for the English supporting ,irrelevant British Royal.
This would be a brave decision but this petty nation [ including the WRU] of ours are not big enough.

[Peter Orchard]

RIP, Gravell

The guy at the Telegraph said that if Ray Gravell didn´t have the time of day for you then you were in serious trouible.

The real sadness is the closures of the coal mines and the steel works which signaled the end of the Welsh Rugby era.

[Winrew]

Quite a nice tribute....

YouTube - Ray Gravell Tribute - 1951-2007 - Wales - Rugby Union

[Peter Orchard]

Nice vid
A man who wore the jersey..