07/08/2008 - Grav statue to stand guard at the Scarlets' new home
Gravs would have been very humble to discover one of the finest sculptors in the world is to make a larger-than-life statue of him to stand sentinel over the new Scarlets stadium, says former team mate Phil Bennett.
David Williams-Ellis, one of the world's foremost figurative sculptors, has been selected to create a bronze sculpture of Welsh hero Ray Gravell to take pride of place outside the Llanelli Scarlets new rugby stadium - Parc y Scarlets.
David is the great-nephew of Welsh architect Clough Williams-Ellis, designer of the Italianate resort village of Portmeirion in North Wales, with Welsh family connections that go back some 1,000 years.
Phil Bennett told the Star: "It's great news. Knowing Gravs like I did, I'm sure that he would be very humble and bemused by it all. To have such a well known and high-profile sculpture is no more than Grav deserves.
"I had coffee this week with Tommy David, another old friend and team-mate of Gravs, and he told me he still has Ray's number on his mobile, he can't take it off, he was that sort of man. Everybody thought the world of him.
"When the statue is finished and placed at the new stadium, I can't think of a better way of greeting people than to have Grav up there."
Mr Williams-Ellis has beaten off stiff competition to create a lasting tribute to the former Wales and Llanelli favourite who died last year.
He said: "I am absolutely thrilled and feel privileged to have been selected to undertake this sculpture. For me this is very personal as I'm a passionate rugby supporter and very proud of my Welsh roots. Creating Ray Gravell's sculpture will be a prestigious piece of work to undertake and a great pleasure to complete."
The 49-year-old hinted that he may look to the current Scarlet players for a model.
He said: "It is really important to me to capture the energy and movement of Ray Gravell - the physical force and spirit that he had when he played. For me to do this using a life model as it will be far superior to working from photographs.
"If one of the players does sit for me, I am sure they will love it. It will certainly be a very memorable experience being transposed into clay - most find it very rewarding."
Robert Williams, chairman of the commissioning panel for the artwork, said: "We are very lucky that David has accepted this commission. He has a remarkable pedigree in his field and we were very impressed with his ability to create sculpture that has energy and life. We wanted something that captured Grav's spirit and we believe we have found the very artist to do that."
Chairman of the Scarlets, Huw Evans said he was pleased that the panel had made their selection. He said: "Ray played with great distinction for Llanelli, Wales, the Barbarians and the British Lions, and was a much-loved figure to us all and is sadly missed. This sculpture will stand proud as a memorial to one of Llanelli's favourite sons."
The commission will take approximately six months to complete and will be unveiled at a separate dedication event in 2009 after the stadium has opened in November.