Eddie Butler was in Abergavenny's Waterstones last Saturday to sign copies of his debut novel, The Head of Gonzo Davies.

The former Welsh rugby captain's new book tells the tale of an ex-Welsh rugby international who is invalided out of the professional game but returns to his struggling village club, little knowing that he is embroiled in a darker, more troubling world than that of mere rugby football.

The Head of Gonzo Davies takes us from modern-day Millennium Stadium professionalism back to the amateur days and the decline of Welsh heavy industry, and even further back to pre-World War Two valley life.

Fans of Butler came from far and wide to get their copies of the new book signed, ahead of Wales's memorable clash with the All Blacks, a game which the 'velvet voice of international rugby' had the pleasure of commentating on.

When asked what the book's all about, the former British Lion Butler explained, "The basic premise is why is this guy, this former Welsh rugby player, called Gonzo Davies.

"So we go back in time – there's a distant family history of why he is called Gonzo and then there's a slightly more recent time-lapse when we visit Gonzo's glory days when he had his moment as a star rugby player and what became of that.

"Then we have his present because he's re-emerged as an ageing player in his twilight years back in his home village. His team just happen to find themselves on a little cup run – and the cup run is set against a turbulence within Wales. The country is going through what is described in the book as the Welsh hell.

"There are three unconnected flashpoints, social troubles that bring Wales into the national consciousness. The elements of Gonzo's different past, his rugby present and this turbulence within Wales they all march together and come to a head."

The Head of Gonzo Davies by Eddie Butler is available from all good bookshops and online retailers.

Pictured is Eddie Butler with Cicely Williams