Phil Bennett (rugby player)

Phil Bennett

Player information
Full name	Phil Bennett
birthday	October 24, 1948
place of birth	Felinfoel , Carmarthenshire , Wales
Clubs as active
Years	society	Games (points)
	Felinfoel RFC
	Llanelli RFC
National team
Years	National team	Games (points)
1969-1988	Wales	29 (166)
1974, 1977	British and Irish Lions	8 (44)
As of December 5, 2019

Phil Bennett OBE (born October 24, 1948 in Felinfoel , Carmarthenshire , Wales ) is a former Welsh rugby union player who was mainly used in the position of the connector . Because of his flair and his wealth of tricks, he was very popular with the audience.

Career

On March 22, 1969 Bennett made his debut for the Welsh national team . As the first substitute player in international rugby, he strengthened the team against France . At the beginning of his career he played a number of different positions, including finish and inside, but in 1972 he specialized in the connector position as the successor to Barry John .

In 1974 he became a member of the British and Irish Lions on the tour to South Africa . His fifty-yard attempt against the Springboks in Pretoria was a career highlight. In 1977 he was the Lions captain for the New Zealand tour . The following year he resigned from the national team. With Wales he had won the Grand Slam at the Five Nations twice (1976 and 1978) .

Bennet played club rugby for his hometown club from Felinfoel and the Llanelli RFC . He also played twenty times for the Barbarians , including in the game against the All Blacks in 1973, where he initiated the famous attempt by Gareth Edwards .

Bennett's autobiography was published under the title Everywhere for Wales . He was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame in November 2005 and into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2015 .

Web links

• International match statistics
• Entry into the World Rugby Hall of Fame