The Voice of Rugby - Dave Webb – retires from SA Rugby Commentary (The search is on!)
For 7 years, Dave Webb has been the voice bringing the game of rugby union to South Australia and beyond and he has now stepped down from this role. With two boys who are growing up he has decided to be more involved in their sport on a Saturday afternoon.
Rugby Union SA would like to give their huge thanks and appreciation for all this time served for our rugby community.
Arriving here in 2007 as part of the World Police and Fire Games, Dave never quite left. As a player he peaked early and represented his county in the UK, and continued for a long and enjoyable playing career.
The number of games commentated on are too many to count, with the majority of rounds (rain, hail or shine) through each season, plus multiple games through the finals. A resilient commentator for sure.
His club game highlight was a finals game played at Elizabeth between Burnside and Onkaparinga. Onkas hit the front with seconds to go. Burnside regained the kickoff and scored to win the game. Or the more bizarre ‘Matt Rumanumanu, covered in spiders’
Commentary highlights were working on the NRC and AON 7s where he took his involvement to another level.
He shared the seat with many willing co-commentators over the years. There was never a dull moment. Dave recalls “All of them have been great, special mention to the regulars in Stef Redmond, Pete Cross and before he got demoted to coaching Tom Hankey.” Our thanks go to all past and future commentators.
Dave had his fair share of disasters and shared “Kids pulling out power cables was always fun. Weather played its part; One game at Elizabeth where we had to bring the camera operators down from the roof and we did radio commentary”. The one to take the biscuit was with Chris Killick as co-commentator “At Old Collegians the rain was so heavy we dropped the gazebo all the way down and sat under it like a tent. All of the electrical equipment went down, and we ended up using a tiny 4” monitor to commentate.” Through it all – he soldiered on.
Final word from Dave: “I should also give out a big thanks to all the managers who have helped me with team sheets and player names. I would reserve my final thanks for Rose who has had to deal with me being ‘the talent’ on many occasions”.
Don’t be a stranger Dave.
We would love to bring on the next voice of SA Rugby Commentary. This is a modestly paid position. If you feel you have the passion and the time to devote to this enjoyable opportunity within RUSA then please email info@sarugby.com.au or contact Carl Jones directly.
