Giant mural a fitting tribute to legend Grav
A GIANT mural of a Welsh rugby legend has been painted on the side of a rugby club in his home village – which his family can see from their doorstep.
Mynyddygarreg Rugby Club now has an eye-catching tribute on one of its walls to the village’s most famous son, Ray Gravell.
The much-loved former player, who went on to become a respected broadcaster, died aged 56 in 2007 after he was taken ill while on holiday in Spain.
He was part of the Llanelli side that famously beat New Zealand on October 31, 1972, during the All Blacks’ tour of Britain, won 23 caps for his country and made the 1980 Lions tour to South Africa, playing in all four Tests. Now a permanent reminder of him has been painted in the place he loved by Steve Jenkins, whose street art has become well known across Llanelli.
The mural’s design was created by Karl Morgan, of Facing West Prints.
Mr Morgan said: “It is a design I’ve been sitting on for a couple of years, really. I did a design of Grav back in 2003, when they proposed Llanelli would merge with Swansea, something that was very controversial at the time.
“I did a cross between Grav and Che Guevara and called it Ray Gravara.
“He is one of those people when you think of Wales, you think of Grav. I like playing with images – I’m a graphic design and print maker, and it was one of those things. The mural at the rugby club was inspired by Shepard Fairey’s Obey image.
“I’d shown it to Grav’s daughters and they really liked it.
“I got in touch with Steve Jenkins who had been doing all the graffiti around Llanelli. He rang me up some time after our chat and said, ‘I’ve got somewhere’.
“I asked where, and he said Mynyddygarreg Rugby Club, and I thought, that’s brilliant.
“It’s a great location in Grav’s village which he loved so much, overlooking the pitch, and looking up at his family home on the mountain. I think he’d be really chuffed with this.
“He was a larger than life character who embodied Wales and Welsh culture, he filled a room with it. It would be nice if people go down and see the mural and spend some money in the club. It might be a bit of a pull in that way.”
Mr Jenkins added: “I put a post out on the Kidwelly and Mynyddygarreg Facebook page whilst we were looking for a location for the mural.
“A few people got excited and then I spoke to a person from the rugby club who said they may have a wall for us to use. I went down and it was perfect: overlooking the pitch, near a communal area and you could see where Ray’s house was from the actual wall, which means Ray’s family can look down and see the mural. That’s what sold it to me. “I went down early on a Sunday morning and got it done within three hours.
“I showed Ray’s family a picture and they could also see it from the balcony of their house. They were chuffed with it.”
It’s a great location in Grav’s village which he loved so much, overlooking the pitch, and looking up at his family home on the mountain
Karl Morgan