Eddie Butler captained Pontypool for three years
Eddie Butler captained Pontypool for three years

EddieButler was a man of many talents and will be remembered by many people.

He captained his country six times before retiring from international rugby union at the age of 27.

He became a columnist and journalist who was unafraid to hold people to account and a commentator who soothed and informed.

It was possible to write and broadcast with depth and gravity but also with humor, and that's what he did.

He died on a charity trek after writing a piece about the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Eddie Butler was the only one who could have done that.

A wonderful wordsmith.

  • Former Wales rugby captain and legendary broadcaster dies aged 65

Pontypool grounding

When he was three years old, the family moved to Raglan from Pontypool, where his father was working.

While Franco's dictatorship was coming to an end, he had a gap year in Spain where he attended school.

He was a triple Blue after playing three matches against Oxford University.

He was nicknamed 'Bamber' by Ray Prosser, the legendary coach of PontypoolRFC, after the host of the University Challenge.

The Pontypool front-row of Charlie Faulkner, Bobby Windsor and Graham Price were included in the pooler set up.

It took me about five years before I was accepted, and then they made me captain in the 6th. They are a great bunch of guys.

Wales come calling

After the success of the 1970s, the early 1980s was a difficult time for Welsh rugby.

When he made his Wales debut in 1980 against France, he was only 22 years old, but he had already spent four years playing for his country.

When they retired, Davies was the head of sport at the British Broadcasting Corporation.

As he began his media career, he already had a name for himself as a rugby journalist with the Observer and Guardian.

He was a top-class player.

Eddie was against the norm and became club captain at Pontypool.

Eddie's broadcasting career was against the norm because many people think they can be broadcasters, but Eddie was a one-off in terms of his command of the English language.

That's how he's seen around the world now. People won't be around when he played. It's almost like he's not replaceable.

Eddie Butler in action for Wales against Scotland in 1982
Eddie Butler in action for Wales against Scotland in 1982

Commentary gems

Bill McLaren was a pundit before he became a commentator.

He commented on Wales' 2005 Grand Slam, which started with a win over England and ended with a victory over Ireland.

TheWales team won a first Grand Slam in 27 years with the help of former Wales centre Tom Shanklin.

The line from butler referred to Henson who was famous for shaving his body

Shanklin said that he was the voice of Welsh rugby.

He was a great writer. He has commented on a lot of my games.

The 2005 win over England was remembered for the words after the kick was nailed through the posts, "Shave awayGavin, shave away"

During the 2005 Grand Slam game against Ireland, he was incredible.

It was an "immense moment" for Wales when he worked in that game. Eddie is the perfect person to commentate on that.

Gavin Henson kicked the match-winning penalty in Wales 11-9 win over England in February 2005
Gavin Henson kicked the match-winning penalty in Wales 11-9 win over England in February 2005

He became a co-commentator after his retirement.

There is no better person to learn from than Eddie.

When you first started out, he was very helpful. I've known him for a few years and he was a lovely man.

You knew you were in safe hands if you co-commentated on a game with Eddie.

He would keep that hand there until the crowd could hear him, and I will always remember that.

After the game is over, he would open his hand and invite you into the commentary booth.

Perfect partners

Eddie Butler and Brian Moore commentating at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff
Eddie Butler and Brian Moore commentating at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff

Jonathan Davies and Brian Moore were co-commentators.

Moore said that he was a great friend.

I can't account for the depth of feeling that I am more upset than I thought I would be.

It was odd because we didn't work that much. The Six Nations and a few other games were not like a full football season.

We didn't spend a lot of time in each other's company but we were very close.

I wanted to tell him how much I liked him.

The double act was created by Moore andButler.

Moore said he didn't know why it worked.

When Eddie was wrong, I argued with him.

Over many years, you get to tolerate and compromise and a deep underlying affection which underpins everything else, which is why people say we sounded like an old couple arguing.

You don't have to worry about ruining your relationship or offending someone. We used to look at how we could improve things and then we stopped.

If we went down that route, it would have been staged. Let's just leave it at that, it hasn't been contrived or planned, it just happened.

Moore was impressed by the way in which Butler won over the viewers.

Moore had a lot of respect for him.

People are being nice about Eddie but he used to get a lot of stick from people on social media.

When I first worked with him, he had to follow a genius in broadcasting because he wasn't Bill McLaren.

He was recognised for his talent over the years and people gave him the credit he deserved.

He had a more difficult job than I did. Eddie's commentary went a long way to pleasing most people.

He loved the game, was a wonderful wordsmith, and knew when not to say anything.

Compliments and controversy

People were put at ease by one of the strengths of butler. One of the people who worked alongside butler was a radio host.

Another Welsh rugby and broadcasting icon died in 2007, according to Lewis.

We were very nervous about doing justice and holding it together.

I remember thinking, "Thank God Eddie is on the sofa", as we came on air.

He used just 11 words to say that Ray Gravell was not limited by Wales.

Having spared the rest of us the job, we were able to do Grav proud. It's for Eddie to sum up.

Following the departure of head coach Mike Ruddock, Lewis referred to his verbal fight with former Wales captain Gareth Thomas.

The investigative journalist was looking for the reasons why Ruddock left, while the coach was defending his squad over player power accusations.

There was a contrast for Sunday night TV.

He was a true journalist, even though he was best known for the spoken word.

There are many different versions of the departure of Mike Ruddock back in 2006 and the episode of scrum V in which Eddie went head-to-head with Wales' captain.

Eddie had a lot of information, but he was determined to make sure the truth was known.

Gareth Lewis hosting the Scrum V show in 2006 alongside Jonathan Davies, Gareth Thomas and Eddie Butler
Gareth Lewis hosting the Scrum V show in 2006 alongside Jonathan Davies, Gareth Thomas and Eddie Butler

Lasting legacy

Andrew is an established voice on our screens who learned from the man.

When he was commentating on France, he used to roll those names off the tongue and use a deep, Welsh voice.

When Bill stepped aside, he took over as the lead commentator.

He's been doing that for the last 20 years.

The rugby player reached an audience.

He said that he was impressed by the writer's work.

He wrote a series of beautiful montages for the 2012 Olympics.

He was one of the great orators of sports broadcasting because of his writing and delivery.

Many other former sports people have talked about his rugby background, but that doesn't mean you'll be a great TV host.

He went from being top-end on the field to becoming a great broadcasters.

Those moments in sport and that rich, Welsh voice are what people will remember about him, even though he was very generous.

If you get a chance to listen to Eddie's work, I would love to see some of the clips from the 2012 Olympics and beyond.

He will be remembered as one of the best sports broadcasters of all time.

Goodbye to a genius

Eddie Butler at Ray Prosser's funeral in December 2020
Eddie Butler at Ray Prosser's funeral in December 2020

Lewis was a colleague of the man's.

Lewis said that the most striking thing about Eddie was that he was the smartest person in the room.

He was good with being smart. He didn't play up the fact that most of us have been guilty of something.

He didn't wear that intelligence or brightness very much. It's so inclusive. Eddie did not always need that many words. Grav and Eddie. We've been fortunate to know them all.

It's hard to believe that he won't be commenting on the Welsh rugby season which starts this weekend.

The URC season is about to start this weekend and it will be weird because the main voice is not there.

"Eddie always paid tribute to the greats of the game, I hope he realized he was one of them," said one of his colleagues.