The former Wales rugby captain and renowned broadcaster Eddie Butler, who has passed away at the age of 65, lived life his way. When he stopped enjoying Test rugby, at the age of 27, he announced his retirement from the international game.
He had opinions and wasn’t afraid to air them.
But the Cambridge University graduate also possessed the gift of perspective. In 2007, journeying back from Nantes with the late Robin Davey, then of the South Wales Argus newspaper, and this writer, it seemed all around in red were having a collective breakdown of sorts, just hours after Wales had been knocked out of the World Cup after defeat to Fiji.
LIVE: Latest Eddie Butler tributes as rugby world devastated
But Butler remained serene. Of course, deep down as a Welshman and an ex-national captain he was disappointed, but the product of Monmouth School knew there were worse things happening in the world than Wales losing at rugby. “I guess the sun will still come up in the morning,” he told Davey.
He could be a force to be reckoned with when debating over a sincerely held viewpoint — his televised showdown with the then Wales captain Gareth Thomas amid Mike Ruddock’s departure as Wales coach was a classic case in point — but there was also a humility about him and respect for others.
No matter how high he climbed the broadcasting ladder he never claimed to know it all — who does? — and would happily thank anyone who helped him with statistics and titbits of local information when he visited grounds that he hadn’t been to for a while.
And what a broadcaster he became: rugby’s equivalent of Huw Edwards, perhaps, complete with sonorous voice and a way with words that more often than not perfectly captured the moment.
His knowledge of the game was deep and his remarks invariably incisive with his tone lyrical.
He had had the ability to coin the right phrase at the right time, a commentator’s gift. When Wales were on their way to winning at Twickenham in 2008, their first success there for 20 years, he marked a try for the full-back Lee Byrne, as the hosts fell apart, by saying: “England, what have you done? Wales, what are you doing?”
And when Scott Gibbs presaged his famous late, late touchdown against England at Wembley in 1999 with a triumphant wave, Butler, sitting alongside Bill McLaren in the commentary box, said: “Scott, don’t do that. Just touch down for the try.”
But he avoided the trap of bias in commentary. In so doing, he showed he had learned from McLaren.
And Edward Thomas Butler didn’t need slow motions and a screen in front of him to do his stuff.
At the Arms Park for a game early in his broadcasting career, he commentated for radio without error for 80 minutes, appearing so relaxed he might have been speaking to a mate over the phone to ask about the evening’s plans. But with such calmness came expertise. Player ID for that game in Cardiff was unfailingly spot-on, analysis was sharp, descriptions of tries were colourful and engaging.
For a generation, Butler was the voice of Welsh rugby and the game will never quite sound the same without him.
Off the pitch, he could mix with anyone, equally at ease amid pomp and ceremony as he was in a workingmen’s club. A phone call as this piece was being written came from a man who was close to tears at the news. Eddie was liked, and liked a lot.
Newport born, he moved to Raglan at the age of three and played his club rugby for Pontypool, a club that became synonymous with uncompromising rugby. Butler loved it there, loved the camaraderie and the us-against-the-world environment, later paying homage to their great coach Ray Prosser in an illuminating and beautifully crafted essay in the book Heart and Soul, the Character of Welsh Rugby.
As captain, he led Pooler to great success between 1982 and 1985, a period which saw the club finish runners-up in the unofficial Welsh Championship before winning it over consecutive seasons.
But the No. 8 was unfortunate to have ventured onto the international scene at a time when the great Wales team of the 1970s was breaking up while expectations remained in place of ongoing success.
He captained Wales six times over two seasons and played for his country on 16 occasions, retiring in 1985 amid much negativity around the national team at the time. “All the enjoyment I had out of playing for Wales just vanished,” he was to say.
He had played for Cambridge University between 1976 and 1978.
Having worked as a teacher for three years he changed career and joined Radio Wales' press and publicity department: the assumption is the quality of some of the organisation’s press releases at the time shot up dramatically.
There was also work for a property development company before a plunge into journalism full-time with the Sunday Correspondent and then with The Observer and The Guardian. Starting his TV broadcasting career he worked alongside Bill McLaren before taking over as the main man after the legendary Scot passed away.
It seems safe to call Butler a broadcasting legend, just as McLaren earned the title.
Away from the game again, the man of Gwent became a supporter of Welsh independence.
He told WalesOnline in 2020 he had gained most pleasure in his working life from writing three novels.
The father of six children also reflected on his career generally in the same interview, saying: “I feel very lucky, absolutely, I really do.
“I have been doing this for over 40 years now. It’s been a busy life.”
He died while on a charity trek in Peru.
His passing leaves a huge void.
But Eddie’s was a life well-lived.
Indeed.
Read more:
Former Wales captain and much-loved rugby commentator Eddie Butler has died
Brian Moore devastated by Eddie Butler death as he says moving goodbye
Eddie Butler death: Latest tributes as rugby world devastated
