Phil Bennett - Phil Bennett - The Autobiography

First published in Great Britain in 2003 by

CollinsWillow

an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

The HarperCollins website address is:

www.harpercollins.co.uk

Copyright © Phil Bennett 2003, 2004

Phil Bennett asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Statistics by Stuart Farmer at Media Services

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Source ISBN 9780007162550

Ebook Edition © JULY 2015 ISBN: 9780008161217

Version: 2015-08-04

HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication .

To my wife, Pat, and my sons, Steven and James .

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Copyright Copyright Dedication Acknowledgements 1 A Grand Day Out 2 The Lost Years 3 The Impossible Job 4 Guided by the Great Redeemer 5 Brown Envelopes, Whites Lies 6 The World in Union 7 In to Africa 8 Leading the Lions 9 Australia Rules 10 Vive L’Europe! 11 Scarlet Fever 12 Scarlet Thread 13 The Top Ten 14 Legends 15 My Favourite Fifteen 16 Day Jobs and Night Terrors 17 Financial Stability 18 The Future of Welsh Rugby Career Statistics Picture Section About the Publisher First published in Great Britain in 2003 by CollinsWillow an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF The HarperCollins website address is: www.harpercollins.co.uk Copyright © Phil Bennett 2003, 2004 Phil Bennett asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Statistics by Stuart Farmer at Media Services All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books. Source ISBN 9780007162550 Ebook Edition © JULY 2015 ISBN: 9780008161217 Version: 2015-08-04 HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication .

Dedication Dedication Dedication Acknowledgements 1 A Grand Day Out 2 The Lost Years 3 The Impossible Job 4 Guided by the Great Redeemer 5 Brown Envelopes, Whites Lies 6 The World in Union 7 In to Africa 8 Leading the Lions 9 Australia Rules 10 Vive L’Europe! 11 Scarlet Fever 12 Scarlet Thread 13 The Top Ten 14 Legends 15 My Favourite Fifteen 16 Day Jobs and Night Terrors 17 Financial Stability 18 The Future of Welsh Rugby Career Statistics Picture Section About the Publisher To my wife, Pat, and my sons, Steven and James .

Acknowledgements Acknowledgements Phil and Graham would like to thank the following people for their help, support and encouragement along the way: John Williams and Felinfoel Primary School staff, Mervyn Bowen and Coleshill Secondary Modern School staff, Llanelli Schoolboys coaches and teachers, Felinfoel RFC, Felinfoel Cricket Club, Llanelli RFC players, coaches, committee members and supporters, and everyone else who helped me live the dream of beating the All Blacks: Bob and Mary Bennett, Les and Myrtle Jones, Pat, James and Steven, Terry and Mary Jones, Wendy and Keith John, Tracey and Leigh Francis, Oliver Bennett, Thomas John and Esther Guy, John, Carol and Dave Lloyd, Huw and Carol Owen, Wynford and Pat Thomas, Maldwyn Griffith, Malcolm Hamer, Ian Jones and staff at the recreation and sports department of Carmarthenshire County Council, Leon and Vanessa Lyons, Veris and Geoff ‘The Barber’ Sherlock, Nigel Walker and everyone at BBC Wales, the sports desk staff of The Sunday Mirror , David Evans and staff at the South Wales Evening Post , Tarda Davison-Aitkins and all at HarperCollins, Nick Fawcett, Stuart Farmer, Huw Evans, Margaret Haggerty, Catherine Thomas, Ted, Martha and Isabelle Thomas, Dewi and Shirley Thomas.

1 A Grand Day Out

2 The Lost Years

3 The Impossible Job

4 Guided by the Great Redeemer

5 Brown Envelopes, Whites Lies

6 The World in Union

7 In to Africa

8 Leading the Lions

9 Australia Rules

10 Vive L’Europe!

11 Scarlet Fever

12 Scarlet Thread

13 The Top Ten

14 Legends

15 My Favourite Fifteen

16 Day Jobs and Night Terrors

17 Financial Stability

18 The Future of Welsh Rugby

Career Statistics

Picture Section

About the Publisher

Phil and Graham would like to thank the following people for their help, support and encouragement along the way:

John Williams and Felinfoel Primary School staff, Mervyn Bowen and Coleshill Secondary Modern School staff, Llanelli Schoolboys coaches and teachers, Felinfoel RFC, Felinfoel Cricket Club, Llanelli RFC players, coaches, committee members and supporters, and everyone else who helped me live the dream of beating the All Blacks: Bob and Mary Bennett, Les and Myrtle Jones, Pat, James and Steven, Terry and Mary Jones, Wendy and Keith John, Tracey and Leigh Francis, Oliver Bennett, Thomas John and Esther Guy, John, Carol and Dave Lloyd, Huw and Carol Owen, Wynford and Pat Thomas, Maldwyn Griffith, Malcolm Hamer, Ian Jones and staff at the recreation and sports department of Carmarthenshire County Council, Leon and Vanessa Lyons, Veris and Geoff ‘The Barber’ Sherlock, Nigel Walker and everyone at BBC Wales, the sports desk staff of The Sunday Mirror , David Evans and staff at the South Wales Evening Post , Tarda Davison-Aitkins and all at HarperCollins, Nick Fawcett, Stuart Farmer, Huw Evans, Margaret Haggerty, Catherine Thomas, Ted, Martha and Isabelle Thomas, Dewi and Shirley Thomas.