Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Katie Sands

Poignant 'empty seat' gesture to Eddie Butler moves everyone at Wales v New Zealand match

Wales' autumn opener against New Zealand marked the first Welsh rugby international since the death of the voice of Welsh rugby, Eddie Butler.

The former Wales captain and highly-respected broadcaster died suddenly in his sleep aged 65 in September, on a fundraising trek in Peru. His death prompted an outpouring of grief among not just his family, friends and colleagues, but the wider Welsh public (and beyond) who had taken in some of Welsh rugby's finest moments in the company of Butler, on commentary.

A special tribute was paid to both Butler and Welsh rugby legend Phil Bennett inside a packed Principality Stadium on Saturday. Wales' autumn curtain-raiser against the All Blacks was also the first time the men in red have played at home since Bennett's death aged 73 in June, with Wales having toured South Africa in July.

Read more: Eddie Butler was the voice of Welsh rugby and the game will never quite sound the same without him

Just before the anthems and haka, Butler's voice was boomed out into the stadium while a video montage featuring him and Bennett was played to fans in the ground, with Butler's epic commentary clips provoking emotions for so many.

TV cameras then panned to Butler's normal seat in the stadium's broadcast gantry, which was left empty and adorned with a cover emblazoned with his name and the rugby teams he ran out for: Wales, the British and Irish Lions, Pontypool, Cambridge and Crawshays.

A commentary microphone was also poignantly placed on the desk he would have used, while a photo montage of Butler and Bennett was displayed on the desk's monitor.

Commentator Andrew Cotter, working on Amazon Prime Video's coverage of the game, said: "Eddie will be greatly missed as a colleague and a friend, and Phil Bennett as well."

Players, staff and fans applauded as both men who did so much for Welsh rugby on and off the field were remembered.

Competition: Win free tickets to Wales v Argentina courtesy of Dove Men+Care

Read more:

The reasons Wales couldn't live with New Zealand in gruesome defeat

Wayne Pivac Q&A: We need to muscle up but there were a lot of good performances

Wales v New Zealand player ratings as Faletau and Owens not enough amid disappointing performances

Win free tickets to Wales v Argentina courtesy of Dove Men+Care

James Hook turns up at rugby event to discover Lee Byrne has massively stitched him up

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.