Bennett can see Scarlet fever lifting Welsh spirit
THE words were music to Phil Bennett’s ears: ‘We can’t catch you, you little Welsh swines.’
Whenever Wales played in the glory years of the 1970s, the majestic No 10 longed to hear them muttered by tiring English forwards.
That was the era of Gareth Edwards, JPR Williams and Gerald Davies magic — standing in stark contrast to the ‘Warrenball’ style of the past decade under Warren Gatland.
‘I’ve wanted us to have a part of that back again,’ says Bennett. ‘For a while, I’ve been a bit disillusioned watching Wales. What hurt me most was seeing the crowd get on Leigh Halfpenny’s back because he would just belt the ball downfield. It would usually be, “Give the ball to the big man” and I thought, “For God’s sake, we’re Welshmen’’.’
Now, Bennett is sensing a revival of the West Walian swerve. The Llanelli-based Scarlets have provided the spine for this year’s Six Nations campaign. They have had 10 players in the starting XV and brought their freeflowing style to the Test stage That style, according to Bennett, now 69, traces back to the nation’s closed steelworks and coal pits.
‘It’s a different era now but it’s good to see a bit of that panache coming back,’ says Bennett. ‘As a young boy, my father and I would walk down the old railway track from Felinfoel. My father would always talk about Stan and Ossie Williams arriving to play Cardiff covered in dust.
‘Boys would work in the mines or the factory from 7.30 in the morning to 4pm and then you’d want to get the ball out, throw it around and express yourself. That’s where the style came from.’
Transformed by the coaching of Wayne Pivac and Stephen Jones, the Scarlets have provided part a blueprint for the Wales attack this year.
They have defied the odds in Europe, beating Bath and Toulon at Parc y Scarlets to qualify for the quarter-final of the Champions Cup.
It is their first appearance in the knockout stages for a decade — restoring an old swagger to the Welsh ranks.
‘It felt like we were back in Stradey Park when we beat Toulon,’ says Bennett. ‘It felt like we were going back to the great days. People hadn’t seen rugby like that in Llanelli for years. For me, that was the night that Parc y Scarlets was born. The emotion was so raw. I’d never felt that at Parc y Scarlets.’