Wales rugby icon explains radical career change after seeing business collapse during pandemic

Personal tragedy compounded his professional difficulties when his father died, and his marriage of over 30 years subsequently ended.

"It seemed like I had reached a fork in the road," Webbe explained, per WalesOnline. "I got to the point where I decided I was just going to start doing things."

He completed training with the academy of professional celebrants and now officiates at both weddings and funerals, though memorial services remain his primary focus.

Two pivotal encounters with dying friends shaped Webbe's decision to pursue this path. He recalls avoiding a friend with terminal cancer in a supermarket, too uncertain about what to say to approach him.

"He passed away a couple of weeks after that and I just felt awful," Webbe admitted. "I had made it about me."

That regret prompted him to visit Gordon Pritchard, the former Caerphilly director of rugby, at Velindre Hospital during his final days.

"He was just so pragmatic and so dignified. He had accepted his situation, his fate," Webbe recalled.

When asked about regrets, Pritchard replied characteristically: "Yeah, there's a couple of people I wish I had knocked out!"

Pritchard died four days later, leaving Webbe a message that still brings him joy.

"It made me think I wanted to do something to help people deal with loss and grief and to celebrate the lives of their loved ones," he said.

Webbe arranges family meetings before each service, describing how conversations shift from sorrow to happiness as relatives share memories they had forgotten.

"The good times outweigh the bad times," he observed.

"You are celebrating a life. You stitch it all together from speaking to friends and family to get the real rounded picture of the person."

Each service is tailored to individual wishes, whether that means hymns, favourite songs, or asking mourners to wear colours rather than black.

The former winger also offers Living Wakes for terminally ill people who have accepted their prognosis.

"It's the closest thing to attending your own funeral," he explained. "It's to celebrate their lives while they are still here with us."

Webbe's personal understanding of grief also informs his work. When his mother died in 2011, he felt unexpectedly numb, only to collapse in tears six months later.

"The grief came pouring out. I had been on automatic pilot up to then," he said. "I wanted to do something to make it ok to grieve."

Throughout his playing career and beyond, Webbe struggled with anxiety, using humour to mask his insecurities. For years he declined speaking invitations, deflecting requests to figures like Jonathan Davies.

A breakthrough came at a Q&A event when he realised audiences simply wanted his story, not comparisons to other speakers.

"I have basically changed my nerves to excitement," he said. "That's what gives me the courage to do it."