Phil Bennett was arguably one of world rugby’s first superstars. The British Lion and Welsh star who conquered the world in the 1970s and continued his career through into the early 1980s also was and still is the face of Llanelli.
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So why are we talking about Llanelli when it is the Scarlets who are in focus as the Welsh regional side prepares to face the Cell C Sharks at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Friday evening? Because Llanelli was along with Cardiff one of two Welsh clubs that won the right to retain standalone status when Welsh rugby decided to take the regional route in 2003. The other Welsh teams, the Ospreys and the Dragons, represent a cluster of clubs and counties.
If Bennett was the Llanelli superstar and is still an important figure at Scarlets, where he is currently listed as the President, he wasn’t alone in having star quality around him. A fellow member of the British Lions team that famously thumped the Springboks 3-0 in the 1974 series was wing JJ Williams.
Other famous global stars who played for Llanelli included wing Ieuan Evans, Derek Quinnell (a Lion in South Africa in 1980- and three-time Lions tourist), Ray Gravel, Scott Quinnell, Gareth Jenkins, Terry Price and Carwyn James, who although capped for Wales was probably more famous as the man who masterminded the Lions’ only series win against New Zealand in 1971. If Bennett was one of the first superstar players, James was probably the first superstar coach.
Llanelli had four players on the 2021 British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa in the form of Liam Williams, Ken Owens, Wynn Jones and Gareth Davies. Other famous recent players of note include George North and Jonathan Davies.
In their previous incarnation as Llanelli, the Scarlets pulled off some memorable feats and were victorious over some very accomplished and renowned touring teams.
The pubs in Llanelli famously ran dry of beer after the Scarlets, coached by the aforementioned Carwyn James, beat the New Zealand All Blacks 9-3 in 1972 but arguably their best victory came when they accounted for then World Cup holders Australia in 1992 with Ieuan Evans scoring the only try in a 13-9 upset.
Llanelli also played some memorable games against the Springboks, and I was at the last of these - the 30-12 win scored by Francois Pienaar’s Boks at Stradey Park in November 1994. Llanelli had quite a reputation for being a difficult obstacle for touring teams back then so that win, and the subsequent annihilation of Swansea, was seen by many to be the turning point for the South African national team that led to the World Cup triumph on their home soil not much more than half a year later in June 1994.
Before professional rugby in Wales went regional in in 2003, Llanelli managed to 14 Welsh Cup final successes, four Welsh League titles, five Snelling Sevens crowns. They also won the inaugural league title after officially becoming the Scarlets entity.
The Scarlets brand was officially launched on 7 July 2003. Despite always having been a 100 per cent owned Llanelli RFC subsidiary, the Scarlets were originally conceived as representing the whole of West and North Wales. In the early seasons of Regional Rugby, the Scarlets played a small number of games in the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham. While nominally continuing to be the Regional Franchisee for North Wales, the Scarlets presence there has withered.[8] As of 2018, the Scarlets consider their region to represent the three counties of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire.
The Scarlets moved from their famous initial home of Stradey Park in 2008 to go to a more modern venue which was named Parc Y Scarlets, and that is their home ground today.
South Africans who have played for Scarlets include Uzair Cassiem, Clayton Blommetjies, Johan Snyman, Jacobie Arendse and George Earle.
