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Top 10 welsh fly halves ever?

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roy munster View Drop Down
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    Posted: 03 May 2020 at 4:23pm
Mate of mine asked me the top 5 welsh fly halves ever?

Now I wasnt around in the pomp of barry and benny and certainly not cliff or many during and before these golden eras. Ive seen some glorious clips and read a bit and listened to some opinions
So Id be most grateful for others input

Its a bit impossible to compare across the decades as the game changes the skills change too, the professionalism, the preparation, the equipment, the pitches, the science and coaching and nutrition, even the ball itself  The but its all a bit of fun

My top 10 takes into account all sorts of things, skill, temperament, consistency, success, inspiring the team, longevity, talent, flair, x factor etc Also success at club and Lions level too... Take watkins and jiffy, league saw their best days and their prolific achievements in league are factored in too

I suspect that on top form at their absolute best that 1971 Barry may be in joint top spot. But I feel Bennys longevity , endless trophies and thousands of points and sheer blinking genius gives him the nod.

Top 10
1. Benny
2. Jiffy
3. Barry
4. Dai Watkins
5. Neil Jenkins
6. S Jones
7. C Morgan
8. J Hook
9. D Biggar
10. R Priestland


Edited by roy munster - 03 May 2020 at 4:31pm
ROYMOND MUNTER MBE (FOR SERVICES TO THE COMBOVER)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RR1972 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2020 at 4:35pm
John jiffy benny morgan watkins stevo biggar jenkins priestland bevan
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote reesytheexile Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2020 at 7:23pm
Some very fine players but in terms of longevity at the top and being Welsh for his loyalty to Club and Wales I choose Benny. Having said that I was related to Cliff Morgan who was a bit before my  time as a fan and a superb player for club Country and the Lions from my Grandfathers side of the family from Trebanog the son of a Miner.

Edited by reesytheexile - 03 May 2020 at 7:23pm
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ROYMOND MUNTER MBE (FOR SERVICES TO THE COMBOVER)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote roy munster Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2020 at 8:40pm

Ultimate Lions: Why Phil Bennett was crowned ahead of Barry John

So, Gareth and Benny it is at half-back for the Ultimate Lions XV with “The King” – Barry John – having to graciously give way at fly-half to his successor Phil Bennett.

Barry John, Phil Bennett
Genius vs Genius: But Phil Bennett (right) edged out Barry John Photo: GETTY IMAGES

12:32PM GMT 17 Mar 2009

It was the most agonising choice yet, with the HSBC luncheon in Birmingham – having consulted the Telegraph readers’ poll, which put John marginally ahead – agonising long and hard before opting for the jinking genius from Llanelli.

Just as readers and diners recalled John gliding his way through defences on the Lions’ 1971 tour of New Zealand, so they thrilled at the memory of Bennett slashing his way through the Springboks’ defence in 1974 with the most devastating sidesteps the game of rugby has ever produced, as the Lions amassed record victories over the old enemy.

What possibly decided it in the end was the memory of the famous 1973 Barbarians’ match, when, in essence, the 1971 Lions plus Phil Bennett lined up against the All Blacks with John having suddenly retired the year before at the age of 27.

That, of course, is part of the latter’s enduring appeal. John left us wanting more and wondering what could have been, what should have been.

A child of the Sixties and a megastar, briefly, of the Seventies, John may have disliked the rock star persona that seemed to settle on him, but he truly was the James Dean or Jim Morrison of the rugby world.

With Bennett we didn’t have to speculate, his entire career was played out in full and gloriously so. Two Grand Slams with Wales, countless moments of breathless brilliance, the Barbarians, of course, the triumphant Lions of 1974 and then again in 1977, when he captained the touring party in New Zealand.

A fitness fanatic, Bennett was 30 years ahead of his time, a model professional despite the absence of a wage packet. He would have graced the modern game, filled huge stadia and unpicked the tightest of in-your-face defences. He would have mocked them and made those on the touchline tear up their coaching manuals.

Inside him would be Gareth Edwards, as he was in 29 Wales internationals and for the duration of the 1974 tour. The selection of Edwards was written in the stars and took a nanosecond to confirm in Birmingham, but we should try not to take his genius for granted. He was as far removed from a “normal” rugby player as we are ever likely to see.

A supreme athlete – he once beat future Olympic medallist Alan Pascoe in the England schools’ 220-yard hurdles – and a gymnast to boot, he was a phenomenal physical specimen.

An instinctive scorer of tries, a consistent performer of impossible acts that no defence could legislate against. Edwards was brilliant tactical kicker – he perfected the raking grubber down the touchline – and was as brave as a Lion in defence.

Everybody out there today, young or old, will have their own favourite Edwards moment. Mine is his incredible, adrenaline-crazed, 85-yard dash for that wonder try against Scotland at a swampy Cardiff Arms Park. He looked like a miner coming off shift as he emerged to be acclaimed. Spike Milligan thought a church should be built on the very spot where he scored to celebrate a miracle.

Edwards’s recollections of his two great partners and buddies are worth recalling: “The only thing that was the same about Barry and Phil was that they were both great players," he said.

"Otherwise everything was different – attitude, way of playing, character. Phil was a lot more introverted, a quieter person but a brilliant footballer more in the classical Welsh mould, like Cliff Morgan and Dai Watkins. He was a fantastic stepper but sometimes I think even Phil didn’t know where his sidesteps would take him.

“Phil inspired those around him in the team by his ability to show brilliance out of nothing, Barry gave a more subtle message by what he did. Barry would joke more, Phil would be more nervous, so we all felt the tension more than when Barry was around. Phil was more of an instinctive genius. You just tried to get as close to him as you could in support.

“When I look back at those times it was the sheer thrill of playing with those guys that I remember most.” Amen to that.




Edited by roy munster - 03 May 2020 at 8:44pm
ROYMOND MUNTER MBE (FOR SERVICES TO THE COMBOVER)
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