It was Phil Bennett who first invoked my own love of rugby. Without him, I guess, I might not have got involved in the sport and would never have ended up with the privilege of refereeing the World Cup final and indeed the 100 Test matches.
So it's entirely your fault, Benny! Ha.
It started back in the spring of 1977 when, as a wide-eyed six-year-old, I watched mesmerised as he scored that incredible jinking try against Scotland up at Murrayfield to clinch the Triple Crown for Wales. There was that wonderful commentary from TV rugby legend Bill McLaren and I note the try has subsequently been voted as Wales' greatest. Rightly so too, even ahead of Scott Gibbs' epic Wembley score versus England.
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After he scored, I remember Benny holding this old brown leather ball, as it was back then, right underneath his chin. I had a ball like that and went straight outside to the field behind our house in the village of Mynyddcerrig pretending to be Phil Bennett. We had a couple of donkeys in the field, Chocolate and Fudge they were called, and I was darting in and out of them, pretending they were Scottish defenders, to replicate the try again and again.
It was only a small village and, to be honest, as youngsters three of four of us would go onto the streets to play football, rather than rugby. Goalie out, that sort of thing. But it was that Benny moment that captured the imagination of rugby for me. I tried playing the game, ended up refereeing and was fortuitous enough to do 100 internationals and, of course, that great World Cup final between New Zealand and Australia at Twickenham in 2015.
It was Benny's brilliance which had made me fall in love with rugby in the first place.
Watch the moment of Benny genius here
Read more here on how that try defined an entire decade.
Invariably our paths crossed. The first time was when I was refereeing a youth match at Felinfoel RFC, his home town club. Felinfoel firsts also had a match he was there to watch, but he made a point of coming over to our game to shake my hand and speak to me, encouraging a young Nigel Owens as a referee. That was the mark of the man, he was a rugby superstar, but he had time for everybody.
That's a rare mix you know. There are people in sport who are as nice and gentlemanly as Phil Bennett was, but they are few and far between. What stood him out was he was a true sporting great, yet also as warm a person as you could wish to meet off the field.
We attended quite a few dinners together and I loved being in his company, listening to the stories he would tell.
Only three or four years ago, I was asked to compere a function in Llanelli where three of their great fly-halves - Benny, Jonathan Davies and Stephen Jones - held court as members of the panel. The audience were gripped by the stories the three of them told.
At the end of the night, one of the organisers came up to me and asked what they owed me. 'Nothing,' I replied. 'It was a privilege to have been part of it.'
The following day the telephone rang and Phil Bennett was on the other end of the line. He said he'd been told I hadn't charged anything, was very grateful, wanted to say thank-you. 'If at any time you want me to come down to your local workingmen's club for a function, I will be there,' he went on to say.
I never forgot that, he took the time and trouble to ring me to say thanks for everything.
That was Phil Bennett the man. Phil Bennett the player - well, the fact that jinking try has been watched so many times in recent days says everything. I was looking at a Scrum V social media clip of Benny's best moments, Eddie Butler commentating, and the hairs stand up on the back of your neck.
Take it from me, wherever I went in the world to referee, be it New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Dubai Sevens, France, Italy, when the subject came round to Welsh rugby Phil Bennett's name would be mentioned in one shape or form. Gareth Edwards, JPR, Gerald, Merv, Barry John - Benny was right up there with the true greats.
The fact that Gareth Bale, no less, spoke in such glowing terms about Benny earlier this week says everything. Indeed, he will be talked about for decades and decades to come. In 50 years' time, people will be looking back at YouTube clips, or whatever the social media equivalent is then, of that Phil Bennett try and his magic memories.
Welsh rugby has changed, sadly we don't see No.10s like him any more. The last great one was probably Jiffy, although Arwel Thomas was a player with weaving magic. That's not to question modern-day fly-halves, there have been great ones produced by Wales and they are up there with the best in terms of how the game is played today.
But I always like to think rugby is a sport for any shape and size, Shane Williams was an example of that.
I know people say we will never see the likes of Phil Bennett again, but I certainly hope we will - on and off the field.
