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‘Butch’ has played for an amazing six decades
Norman ‘Butch’ Gilbert is a quite amazing character in Pembrokeshire Sport who has just played a rugby match for Pembroke 2nds against their counterparts from Milford Haven at Crickmarren – and in doing so can now say that he has played for the Scarlets in six different decades!
He played for Pembroke Youth as long ago as 1968, made his first XV debut in 1969 and has stayed involved ever since, combining his love of the oval ball game with an even greater love for God because Butch has been the minister of Cosheston Mission Chapel for the past 17 years and serves the congregation in the village where he was brought up as a lively nipper!
Church involvement since he was a teenager – and taking the plunge
He had been heavily involved in the church since he was a teenager and at 35 years of age he decided, with the full support of wife Rose, who has been his rock throughout their marriage, to enrol in a three year course at the Wales Evangelical School of Theology in Bridgend so that he could qualify as a pastor, or minister in the church. On qualification he could have been asked to take up his work anywhere in the country but around that time the Mission in Cosheston, which had been closely linked with Mt Pleasant Chapel in Pembroke, decided it was time to become independent, and it was a delighted Reverend Norman Gilbert who was offered the job of being its first minister.
Scarlet player – and strong views
It meant Butch could continue to play at Pembroke, where he says everyone at the club has been very understanding of his situation.
“I am teetotal, I don’t approve of bad language and won’t play on a Sunday,” says Butch, “and I can’t train or play on Wednesdays because that is when our prayer meetings take place. It has meant that I have missed a couple of midweek cup semi-finals and even if we had reached a KO Cup final, which was traditionally played on a Wednesday, I wouldn’t have been available to play.”
“I’m not the first Christian to take those sort of decisions, though, because Ewan Murray plays for Scotland now but isn’t available on Sundays, whilst the great New Zealand flanker Michael Jones refused to play in a World Cup Final because it was scheduled for a Sunday – so I am in good company!”
“But it’s all worked out quite well, although I have shocked a few referees in my time by asking them to stop players swearing in the front row, especially since I have been a bit of a nuisance to them before that because I was small and had to stick up for myself in the scrums and rucks!”
School start to rugby
Butch played regularly in school, where the rugby teachers were Derek Blake and Dai Williams, where he played as flanker or as a scrum half.
“I couldn’t pass or kick well but I was lucky to have Rodney Cadogan, my pal from the village, outside me to take the poor passes, and we both progressed from youth rugby at Crickmarren to the first team alongside other young players like John Jones, Alan Thomas, Andy Welch, Jeff Cole, Louis Sturgeon, Kevin Bowers, Graham Reed and Steve Corbally, so we had a useful side.”
Butch played in three KO Cup semi-finals but was on the losing side against Cardigan, Haverfordwest and Narberth, where the Scarlets led 9-0 but Butch had to leave the pitch to have a split eye stitched and came back on when the Otters had built up what proved to be a 15-9 winning score.
Good front row teachers
Butch says he learned a great deal about looking after himself in matches from characters like Morgan Lewis and Guy Thomas because he was less than 5 feet 8 inches and weighed only 14 stone, so he was always scrummaging against much bigger props in the time that he played in the front row as a tight head prop against fearsome opponents like Brian ‘Ginger’ Davies and Tony Brace. He also enjoyed playing in the back row alongside players of the calibre of John James, Andy Welch, Gareth Davies and especially Anthony Hodge, and Butch admits that he particularly enjoyed local derbies against the Quins, who had a redoubtable pack that included Lenny and Roy Scourfield, Ossie Boswell, Keith Harris, Patch Manning, Rowland Boyett and Terry Main.
“They were all much bigger than me,” admits Butch, “so I had to be a real nuisance to make my presence felt. We were all good pals afterwards, though, and I think that aspect of the game is missing now that we have the national leagues.”
Never sent off but a yellow ‘conversion’
Butch is rightly proud of the fact that he has never been sent off in his entire career and only showed a yellow card on one occasion, when he came on from college and agreed to play as a replacement, watched for the first time ever by daughter Naomi. He was on the pitch for only two minutes when he was given a ten-minute ‘rest’ by the referee and prompted club secretary Eifion Powell to write in his programme notes on the match:
“Butch Gilbert was only on the field for two minutes when he moved from saint to sinner and suffered a greater conversion than the other way round when Paul was on the road to Damascus!”
The closest he ever came to being sent off was in a match against Milford Haven where he enjoyed an altercation with opposing hooker Nigel Gough which didn’t please the ref but Butch’s pleading didn’t go unheard and after a stiff lecture both players were allowed to continue!
Fathers and sons
He has played alongside older son Darren on a number of occasions and his younger son Joel is now playing on the wing for Pembroke Youth so it will be interesting to see if Butch can stay long playing enough to play alongside him as well. He and Darren once played in a match where there were also other veterans in Nigel Duffy and Peter Kidney playing alongside their sons so although he is now 57 and saying it is time he packed up, PembrokeshireSport.co.uk wouldn’t bet against all three Gilberts playing together at some time.
And finally . . .
He says that he would like to have put more off the field into Pembroke RFC, which he says is a great club, but there is no doubt that he has been an amazing servant on the pitch.
“I wouldn’t have missed it because it has been brilliant,” says Butch, “and I have had wonderful support from my wife, from the other players, supporters and my congregation. I have been very lucky indeed. To be involved for so long means I have many happy memories and I hope my old friend Rodney Cadogan can find time to play this season because I can think of no-one better to share my six-decade record with than him.”
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