Real Life: Rugby commentating legend Grant Nisbett on loss and his career

Nisbett said he struggled to come to terms with what had happened and how to deal with it.

“There’s absolutely no script whatsoever, and there’s no length of time to grieve either. It’s something you don’t practise for.

“You just surround yourself with people who love you, and life moves on. But you never forget.”

While navigating life without his wife was challenging, Nisbett told John Cowan about his pride in the family he rebuilt following the loss.

Despite having an illustrious career, he believed nothing compared to the joy of raising his children.

“People often say to me, ‘What’s your greatest achievement in life?’ and it’s certainly not doing 350 test matches. It’s bringing up two daughters.”

The 75-year-old also reflected on his extensive time behind a microphone at rugby games and the lessons learned throughout the years.

He explained the biggest lesson was the art of saying less, and his tendency to want to fill the silence as much as possible.

After many years, he came to find “a little bit of silence is golden”.

“[When you are] sitting at home, 10 seconds of silence actually doesn’t feel like 10 seconds. When you’re sitting in a commentary box, it feels like an age, and you feel like you’ve got to fill in the gaps.”

“Working with so many ex-All Blacks over the years, that’s probably the hardest thing they find [commentating]. They feel they’ve got to justify their existence by continuously talking.”

Despite having spent much of his life in the commentary box, he is still not tired of it.

“I’d hate the thought of waking up in the morning and having no real purpose. I almost don’t consider it a job; it’s a passion.”

After more than 40 years, the game of rugby has changed dramatically, and Nisbett explained to John Cowan that there was a need to keep up.

“The tackled-ball rule has changed a million times. Once upon a time, you could ruck with your feet; now you can’t do that. All sorts of things have changed over the years.”

While calling a game, he feels a tension between avoiding talking down to viewers and explaining the game for those who need it.

Sport remains a huge part of his life, even just for leisure, and he still enjoys watching any Kiwi team competing on the international stage.

“Any Kiwi playing anywhere, any sport, anywhere in the world, and it’s on the telly, I’m going to watch,” he said.

Nisbett has also developed a love for lawn bowls.

“In the last 20 years or so, I’ve really got stuck into it. I really enjoy it. It’s one of the few sports that, on a given day, if everything’s going your way, you can beat some really good players.

“I certainly couldn’t beat Björn Borg at tennis. I’d never beat Muhammad Ali in the boxing ring. But on a given day, one set out of 100, I might beat Peter Belliss. Probably not, but I might!”

Even in his 70s, Nisbett is still commentating. He is set to call the All Blacks’ game against Italy at Wellington’s Sky Stadium on July 11.

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