It was the toughest job in rugby — succeeding Barry John — but it says everything about Phil Bennett that by the time he retired himself, he was established as a legend.

John is still viewed by many as the most naturally gifted player ever to play rugby, so when he bowed out at the age of 27, saying the pressure of fame had become too great, there could have been a massive void in the Wales team.

But Bennett stepped in and hit his own career high two years later, in 1974, when he dazzled with the Lions on their triumphant tour of South Africa.

He finished with 103 points and his 50-metre try against Pretoria, scored after a blur of weaving and sidesteps, remains one of the game's great touchdowns.

Bennett's trademark was a slashing sidestep, a kind of exaggerated hop that endeared him to fans across the world and bemused would-be tacklers.

It was a weapon he famously used at the start of the move that culminated in Gareth Edwards's legendary score for the Barbarians against New Zealand in 1973.

Gathering a bobbling ball in his own 22, he beat four players with a couple of sidesteps before passing to JPR Williams to launch the sweeping attack that yielded what connoisseurs see as the finest try ever scored.

Such was the competition for places in Welsh rugby at the time that Bennett's position came under threat from John Bevan and the Aberavon player did oust Bennett for the victory in France in 1975.

But he reclaimed his spot to feature in the Grand Slam side the following year and he skippered Wales to a full house in 1978, having led the Lions in New Zealand a year earlier.

For all his flair, he was also a masterful tactical kicker, never more so than when he steered Llanelli to victory over New Zealand in 1972.