Couple will name baby son after rugby legend
IT WAS an incredibly poignant day last month when Llanelli said a final farewell to legendary Welsh rugby player Phil Bennett, following his recent passing at the age of 73.
Benny, as he was affectionately known, had been a hero all his adult life around Wales and beyond and has inspired generation after generation of rugby players both on and off the pitch.
We reported on Mr Bennett’s memorial service last week and were inundated with hundreds of comments from people, each paying their respects to the “one and only legend Phil Bennett” who gave Wales “magical moments” and “should have been knighted”.
Among those saddened by his passing, Llanelli couple Jordan and Mel Davies said they wanted to help Mr Bennett’s memory to live on – and so they have decided to name their baby son after him. Baby Davies is due in August and will be given the middle name of “Philip” in tribute.
Jordan, a factory worker, is dad to 11-month-old Jordan, known as JJ, and step-dad to 14-year-old Ace and seven-year-old Zack. He said he and wife Mel, a barmaid, wanted to honour Mr Bennett as he made a huge impact on him when he was a youngster.
“When I was young, about 10 or 11, I used to play rugby for Felinfoel and Phil Bennett was an old friend of the family, he was good friends with my uncle. When I’d go down to the park to train, he’d be there and he’d train with us,” Jordan said.
“He was very easy going and lovely to talk to – he made an effort to get to know us. We [my wife and I] were really sad to hear when he passed away, so we were thinking about adding his name to our baby’s name.”
Jordan and Mel met 10 years ago and have been a couple for five years. They got married in Las Vegas in November 2019 and have decided their son, due on August 23, will take “Philip” as his middle name, in a nod to “true gentleman and legend Philip”.