Funeral of former Argus rugby writer Robin Davey in Newport

Mr Davey was the Argus’ chief rugby writer and served his hometown newspaper for more than 40 years before he retired in 2011.

He died earlier this month, aged 77.

Among those in attendance at St John Baptist Church on Friday were former colleagues at the Argus, fellow sports journalists, and representatives from the Dragons, as well as a number of local teams.

Robin Davey. Picture: Twitter.

The service, led by Canon Colin Westbrook, also saw two of Mr Davey’s friends pay tribute to him.

Mr Davey’s best man, Roger, said: “He was brought up in Newport by his mum. Her influence was strong on Robin.

“He was a Newport lad through and through.

“He was taken from us in the worst possible circumstances, in a flick of a wrist he was gone.

“He was extremely, extremely amusing. You couldn’t spend any time with Robin without laughing – and not always laughing with him.

Robin Davey pictured at his desk in the old Argus office at Maesglas in Newport

“He forged an incredibly successful career at the Argus.

“He knew everybody from the bottom, through all the players right up to the top. Everybody knew him.”

His friends also spoke of Mr Davey’s love of animals, recounting a time on holiday he befriended a stray dog in Antigua before taking it to a dog shelter. He then went back the following year to see that it was being looked after.

Donations in his memory were collected on behalf of Redwings Horse Sanctuary, All Creatures Great and Small, and the Humane Society International.

The service included the hymns The Lord Is My Shepherd and Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah, and Mr Davey’s coffin left the church to Morriston Male Voice Choir’s rendition of Calon Lân.

Mr Davey was buried at St Woolos Cemetery.