Welsh rugby legend Jonathan Davies to quit the BBC after 30 years

Nation.Cymru staff

Wales rugby legend Jonathan Davies has announced he is quitting the BBC after 30 years.

The rugby union and rugby league icon has revealed he will be hanging up his mic after the Six Nations, with Wales’ clash against Italy at the Stadio Olimpico being his final game.

He announced the news in an interview with Daily Telegraph sports journalist James Corrigan.

The 64-year-old said he is leaving on his own terms and has not been pushed out.

“It’s just time,” he told the Telegraph. “I’m going to make the next Six Nations my last, finishing up in Rome for Italy v Wales.

“I have honestly not been told to head towards that door. This is my decision. I am rubbish with facts and stats, but I’ve been doing the Six Nations since it was Five and have enjoyed the ride. It’s the moment to get out of the chair.”

The next Six Nations will be the 30th for Davies, who has acted as the sidekick at first for Bill McLaren and then with his great friend Eddie Butler, and latterly with Andrew Cotter.

“When I retired from playing [in 1997] the BBC took a chance on me and threw me in with Bill. I mean, what a legend<" he said. "I would sit there in awe when he’d come up with stuff such as ‘like a runaway giraffe’ or ‘he’s like a demented ferret up a wee drainpipe’ or ‘he’s like Bambi on speed’. None of that was scripted. “He gave me a few simple lessons. Be informative, but tell it plainly, remember you are talking to people on their couch who might not understand what happened and why. He also told me that when he had to look down at his notepad and update the score or something: ‘Just blather on until I’ve finished.’” [caption id="attachment_366072" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Jonathan Davies cannot hide his glee after Wales beat England in Cardiff.[/caption]

As for what people will remember of his time as a television pundit, he recalled the now legendary photograph of him grinning in a line up alongside a particularly morose looking Jeremy Guscott, Sir Clive Woodward and John Inverdale after Wales had beaten England 30-3 in Cardiff.

“I’ve signed that picture so many times, I’m talking hundreds,” he said. “The English had come down sure they were going to win to lift the Grand Slam and they got thumped. The lads were mortified, but when I came into picture I was laughing. It actually wasn’t at the result – although that was funny – but over the shoulder of the cameraman I could see an old mate who was being daft and celebrating wildly. It’s what it’s all about. It’s not war, it’s sport and although I know how much it means, there should be moments of light-heartedness.”