TRIBUTES have poured in to Welsh rugby legend Phil Bennett, who has died after a long illness at the age of 73.

Bennett played 413 times for Llanelli RFC, from making his debut as an 18-year-old to his final appearance in 1981, captaining the side for six years of his 15-year spell.

One of Wales’s greatest ever players, he won 29 caps for his country between 1969 and 1978, winning two Five Nations grand slams and three triple crowns.

Bennett made his Wales debut in March 1969 against France in Paris, replacing the injured Gerald Davies to become the first Welsh substitute in international rugby.

He played in several positions, including full-back and centre, in those early years, with his path to his favourite outside-half spot blocked by the brilliant Barry John. But John’s shock retirement in 1972 at the age of 27 allowed Bennett to fill the most revered of Wales shirts: the number 10 jersey.

The most memorable of Bennett’s 413 appearances for Llanelli — for whom he scored 2,532 points in 16 seasons — came on October 31 1972 when New Zealand were famously conquered 9-3 at Stradey Park.

In 1973, playing for the Barbarians against New Zealand at Cardiff Arms Park, Bennett produced probably the most famous three sidesteps in the history of rugby. Recovering the ball near his own try line, Bennett evaded four All Blacks to start the move that led to Gareth Edwards’s length-of-the-field score, since dubbed “rugby’s greatest try.”

Although mild-mannered and thoughtful, Bennett’s pre-game pep talk before a Five Nations match against England in Cardiff in 1977 stirred Welsh passions and passed into rugby folklore.

“Look what these bastards have done to Wales,” Bennett said. “They’ve taken our coal, our water, our steel. They buy our homes and live in them for a fortnight every year.

“What have they given us? Absolutely nothing. We’ve been exploited, raped, controlled and punished by the English — and that’s who you are playing this afternoon.”