Phil Bennett obituary

In the golden age of Welsh rugby during the 1970s, no player more personified the national side’s artistry and the passion for the sport than Phil Bennett. The mercurial Llanelli No 10, who has died aged 73 of throat cancer, came from a strong national tradition of fly-halfs.

At Llanelli he developed his game under the coaching genius of Carwyn James. Before long the 20-year-old Bennett was exchanging the scarlet jersey of Llanelli for a similarly hued jersey of Wales when he won a first cap as their first ever replacement for an injured player, Gerald Davies, at the Stade de Colombes, Paris, in 1969. He never touched the ball.

Wales, though, knew they had a fly-half of genius and one who would step out of the long shadow of Barry John when the country’s then leading points-scorer announced his shock retirement from the game in 1972.

He was still a slight figure, standing only 5ft 7in, but his acceleration and devastating sidestep left some of the world’s best defenders and would-be tacklers groping at thin air as he drifted past them. Alongside another brilliant player, the scrum-half Gareth Edwards, he made a huge contribution to the Wales side that set new standards for the northern hemisphere game for the next decade.

His fame was established in two matches that have passed into the game’s folklore. Neither was in the jersey of Wales or the British Lions. In October 1972 Llanelli beat the All Blacks, captained by Ian Kirkpatrick, at Stradey Park. James had been preparing for months for this game. The Scarlets played like a team possessed and the game was settled by a try from the centre Roy Bergiers and the boot of Andy Hill. Max Boyce immortalised the 9-3 win as “the day the pubs ran dry”.

Three months later