Glenn Webbe: Black Welsh rugby star humbled by documentary
- Published
Glenn Webbe was the second black rugby player to represent Wales' national rugby union team
One of Wales' first black rugby players has said seeing the story of his life and career was humbling and "like an out of body experience".
Cardiff-born Glenn Webbe earned 10 Welsh caps and was the first British player to score a hat-trick of tries at the Rugby World Cup.
He was almost always the only black player on the pitch in the 1980s and endured racism, from having a banana thrown at him to being refused service in a restaurant while on a tour of apartheid South Africa.
Often credited with being the first black rugby player to represent Wales' national rugby union team, Webbe was in fact the second, following in the footsteps of Newport-born Mark Brown.
In new BBC documentary Legends of Welsh Sport: Glenn Webbe, he recalls the banana incident that happened during a local derby in Maesteg, in Bridgend county.
Glenn Webbe is the son of Windrush generation parents and grew up in Ely, Cardiff
"I picked it up and just sort of peeled it, took a little bite and just threw it back into the crowd where it came from," he said.
"I was surprised, the crowd erupted 'well done Webby, well done'."
He explained it was about taking back control.
"When someone is trying to offend me the choice is mine now. I decide whether I take offence or not.
"On this occasion I decided 'I'm not going to take offence. I'm not going to let it go any further than the surface'."
He said he was actually "flattered" by the incident - "the fact they'd gone to all of that trouble just to put me off my game, which it didn't."
Glenn Webbe earned 10 Welsh caps and was the first British player to score a hat-trick at a World Cup
'We don't serve black people in here'
In the documentary, he also recalls being refused service in a restaurant when on a tour of apartheid South Africa.
"We were there waiting to be served - we were waiting and waiting and waiting," he said.
"We went to ask one of the waiters and the waiter said 'we've got a policy, we don't serve black people in here'."
He said it was the first time racism had been "smacked in my face like that".
Once his coach realised what had happened he said "if it's not good enough for Glenn then it's not good enough for us", recalled Webbe.
"He marched the whole party out of there and I'm still touched now."
Webbe (second left) grew up with his seven sisters
Webbe's parents were part of the Windrush generation, travelling from St Kitts on the RMS Queen Mary and settling in Ely, Cardiff, where he was one of eight children.
He credits Ely with making him the man he would go on to become.
"I was the only black kid in my class," he said.
"My mother always used to say 'because you're black you've got to work harder to get what you want'," his sister Jacky Ayres told the documentary.
Webbe said the family were poor and he quickly learned that once he got what he wanted he had to "fight tooth and nail" to keep it.
He played for Canton Youth as a schoolboy and was selected for the Welsh youth tour of South Africa when he was 18.
Webbe's career at Bridgend saw him score almost 300 tries in just over 400 games
Cardiff twice tried to woo the young player but he turned the team down and instead went to Bridgend.
Rugby union was not yet a professional sport, so Webbe worked as a labourer on building sites and as a rep for a double glazing company.
During his first season at Bridgend, he was selected to play against Australia when they came to the town in 1981 - helping the club beat the Wallabies 12-9.
Despite being at the top of his game, he was repeatedly overlooked for the Wales team.
He received offers to play abroad and was frequently approached by rugby league scouts, but decided to play the long game.
"Getting picked is the hard part. I was aware that because of who I was and how I looked that I wasn't very good at getting picked," he said.
In 1986 the call he had been waiting for finally came - he had made the national squad for a tour of the South Sea Islands and came on as a substitute against Tonga.
The Bridgend team that beat Australia in 1981
After scoring two tries, Webbe was knocked unconscious as a result of a high tackle, before being revived and going on to complete his hat-trick while concussed.
Six months later, he made his home debut in Cardiff against England.
That summer Wales took part in the first Rugby World Cup and Webbe made the squad.
His final cap came in a game against Romania in 1988.
'A sense of hope'
Webbe's Bridgend teammate Gareth "Alfie" Thomas said Webbe "had to work and train and fight for every step he ever took on a rugby field".
In the documentary he also recalls admiring Webbe's individual sense of style, with his short shorts and coiffed hair.
"That's brave, that's individual. I was in awe of him being authentic," said Thomas.
"I remember thinking he couldn't hide who he was but I could hide who I am - if Glenn can be Glenn then who knows, in 20 years maybe Gareth can be Gareth.
"There's a sense of hope that I saw in Glenn definitely."
Years later, in 2009, Thomas revealed he was gay, external.
Once his international career was over, Webbe returned to Bridgend, scoring almost 300 tries in just over 400 games.
"Bridgend to me are everything, they're my family as far as rugby is concerned," he said.
Webbe says watching the story of his life and career was a "beautiful experience"
'A spiritual moment'
Webbe recently attended a screening of the documentary and said looking at his life and career had a big impact on him.
"It was like attending your own funeral, it was quite a spiritual moment, really," he said.
"Seeing it and seeing yourself how other people see you, that's a very rare occurrence, humbling, to say the least.
"It was lovely. It was a beautiful experience."
It has also been an opportunity for him to reflect on how he handled being one of the first black men in the game.
"I've been black for a very long time now, and you know I'm pretty good at it," he said.
Webbe helped Bridgend beat Australia 12-9 in his first season
"So looking back, some of the things I had to do to get by then I wouldn't do now.
"I used to use humour as a coping mechanism. Now, I'd basically call people out."
But said he was not a fan of those who have not experienced racism being offended on his behalf.
"I don't want to ever feel like I'm a victim," he said.
"Sometimes when people do the standing up for you, it's like they're sort of emasculating you all, they're basically stealing your energy, stealing that history, everything you've gone through in that fight," he said.
"But I do understand, and I do appreciate that things are changing so big up to everybody of that nature."
He thinks things are better for black people in sport now than they were in his day.
"Obviously I'm also aware that it's still a long way to go," he said "but there's an air of inclusivity that people are adopting".
Legends of Welsh Sport: Glenn Webbe is on BBC One Wales on Wednesday at 20:00 GMT and will be available to view on BBC iPlayer.
- Attribution
- Published1 July 2020
- Attribution
- Published1 July 2020
