I will always remember ‘Grav’ as a hero to the Welsh people

Nov 2 2007 by Gareth Edwards, Western Mail

I WAS deeply shocked and saddened when I heard the news of Ray Gravell’s death.

He wasn’t just a great rugby player, he was a lovely man and a hero to the Welsh people.

I could hardly believe the words I was hearing when I was first told what had happened. My immediate thoughts were with his wife Mari and their two daughters, Manon and Gwennan.

And now, as I collect my own thoughts, I know there will be people throughout Wales, and in fact the world, who will be greatly affected by his sudden death.

Having heard all the tributes coming in, you can see that he touched people from all walks of life, whether or not they had any knowledge of rugby.

That’s because, although he was a great rugby player, it was the work he did afterwards that brought him even closer to the nation.

Ray was a modest man and he would be flabbergasted at people’s appreciation and thoughts.

I can only think that, while he would enjoy the affection, he would be deeply embarrassed by it all. But that simply serves as another reason why he deserves it.

Grav had so many virtues it’s hard to list them all. He was an extremely gregarious person who loved nothing more than being with his family and friends.

But, even when he wasn’t among friends, he would chat to opposition fans and get on with anybody. He was that type of guy.

Nothing says more about Ray than the way he reacted to his leg amputation earlier this year. He made a remarkable recovery and he was as bubbly as ever afterwards.

Considering how quickly it all happened, we were all amazed by his strength of character and how quickly he went back to being the old Ray.

That, in many ways, is why what happened was such a shock. It’s the last thing I thought would happen to him.

But, as sad as I am about Ray’s death, I will always have fond memories of the time I spent with him, many of them from the games we played together.

I can still remember when he was a young, nervous debutant in Paris back in 1975. He was just so thrilled to be playing for his country.

He was so affected by nerves, though, that we wondered if he would even be able to take to the field. In the dressing room, in between singing songs, he would be physically sick every 10 minutes or so.

But then he was an absolute colossus on the field. His performance was full of passion and commitment, something that went on to typify him not just as a rugby player but in his later life as well.

The interesting thing is that, while everyone else knew how good he was, Ray often doubted his own talents.

He was forever turning to the senior players to ask how he was playing and whether he was looking good on the pitch.

We would always respond “Yes Grav, you look great out there,” and you could see his head go up. After that, God help anybody who got in his way.

He could quite literally obliterate the opposition, many of them world-class players, with his dynamism and sheer commitment.

That’s just how good he was.

I remember one time after he asked similar questions, he went out and battered the Irish.

But then, three days later, I used it to my advantage when Cardiff played Llanelli.

As we went on to the pitch, I looked at him, shook my head and said, “Grav, what’s happened to you?” The reply came, “What do you mean Gareth?” So I said, “Well you’ve put on a lot of weight over the weekend, haven’t you?”

It was just a throwaway joke and every now and then I caught his eye and made a gesture about it.

But I didn’t think much of it.

Then at half-time Phil Bennett came up to me and said, “For God’s sake tell Grav he is OK because he is driving us all insane by constantly asking if he is fat.”

Needless to say I didn’t until after the final whistle.

I can look back and laugh at that now, but not as much as Grav did.

He used to love telling stories about himself and poking fun at himself.

That was the great thing about him and we always had a good laugh talking about that game.

Rugby played such a big part in Grav’s life and he was always upbeat and optimistic whenever the Scarlets or Wales took to the field.

He was a passionate man, but even on occasions when his endless enthusiasm got the better of him, he was still an extremely knowledgeable student of the game.

He was a national hero and it would be a nice gesture to see some form of tribute at the South Africa game in a few weeks.

There’s no doubt in my mind it would be a fitting thing to do for someone who dedicated himself not just to Welsh rugby, but to Wales in general.

I’m sure in the years to come they will talk about Ray Gravell in the same vein as they talk about the legends coming out of the Mabinogion.

There’s no denying it’s a very sad day for Wales to lose such a sportsman and personality.