The Llanelli outside half featured twice in a try that began at a breakdown in the Welsh 22 and ended up with what Bill McLaren described in commentary as “the try of the Championship”. More than that, it clinched another Triple Crown.
In all four rounds of our competition to find the best of 16 great Welsh tries, Benny’s side-stepping delight came out on top in every contest. In the final, Scott Gibbs’ iconic score at Wembley against England in 1999 had to settle for second best.
One of the ultimate stars of the ‘Super Seventies’, Bennett accounted for Allan Bateman in the first round, Shane Williams in the second and Justin Tipuric in the semi-final. The final was a real heavyweight clash, but Benny proved ‘West in Best’ as the ‘Turk’ beat the ‘Jack’ with more than 60% of the votes cast.
Phil Bennett on His Try
“I didn’t score that many tries for Wales. I got one against Ireland at Lansdowne Road and then two against France in 1978 when we won the Grand Slam, but they were both five yarders.
“So, the try against Scotland is the one that gets talked about the most when I meet people. It clinched the Triple Crown and in those days the Triple Crown was more of a respected achievement than perhaps it is today.
“Wales were going through some tough times economically back then. Factories and mines were closing and people were losing their jobs.
“Yet, the commitment to watching Wales play was still incredible. I can remember on Saturday morning in Edinburgh, standing on a balcony in our team hotel and looking out along the length of Princes Street and seeing a sea of supporters, dressed in red shirts or scarves, or rosettes. I realised how much effort they had gone through and I thought, ‘we can’t let these people down’.
“The try itself is still memorable. Andy Irvine kicked the ball away to JPR and I thought, ‘he’s made a mistake there.’ Gerald Davies produced some magical sidesteps, beat three or four men, and put me into a bit of space. I had David Burcher outside, found him, and he floated a beautiful high pass back inside to Steve Fenwick.
“Steve took man and ball, but, incredibly, got the ball away back to me. I had two guys in front of me and managed to beat them both with a step.
“One of them was the great Ian ‘Mighty Mouse’ McLauchlan. He was a hard man, was Mouse, who loved scrummaging and I was shocked to see him back near his own 22 trying to cover.
“Thankfully, they bought the dummy and I was away to the posts. People asked whether it was a pose with the ball under my chin, but it truly wasn’t. I was knackered – and relieved.”
