Friday, April 20, 2012
Shane Williams hanging up his boots - A farewell documentary
Shane Williams played his final game for Wales in December, and tonight ends his Ospreys career with their last home game of the regular season, against Newport Gwent Dragons. Ahead of the game, we've got this great documentary about his career.
Williams will end his record-breaking career at the Liberty Stadium tonight, where they have already sold over 11 000 tickets. The Ospreys are second on the RaboDirect Pro12 standings so want the win, and would love to give Williams the kind of send-off he deserves.
"All the superlatives have been used up for him," said coach Jonathan Humphreys.
"Suffice to say this group would love to see him go out with a bang because he's been absolutely huge for us. I remember thinking he would never make it when I saw him playing as a kid coming through — he looked too small. But he's proved everyone wrong to be one of the best finishers in the game. I don't think there's been anyone better than him — ever.
"You don't often get a kid who has that much skill and gas and can back it up with a ton of guts. He's been a pleasure to watch and you only have to consider the impact he's had as a world player of the year playing for this region, coming from this region and wanting to finish his career here."
In the documentary below, one of the most complete ever made about the Welsh legend, we get to look back on his humble beginnings as a tiny kid, then follow his rise to prominence in the game, and the struggles he went through along the way.
"It was tough, but I got used to that," Williams says, referring to always being smaller than everybody else. "I didn't take any shit through school, and I don't know. I don't think you can."
It's incredibly candid, with the great man himself talking us through all the way, and it features some fantastic, in some cases, unseen footage. It's almost 30 minutes long, so sit back and enjoy.
Time: 28:55
Credit: The BBC
Posted at 7:42 am | 34 comments
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Viewing 34 comments
themull April 20, 2012 9:22 am
Frankie Rugby April 20, 2012 10:17 am
akira April 20, 2012 10:18 am
WelshOsprey April 20, 2012 11:39 am
Retiring too early from club rugby, hes still got another season or two left in him IMO
Sad to see him go but i hear hes playing for the barbarians in the summer?
Guy April 20, 2012 12:32 pm
Epic figure. He does every rugby player in the world proud!
Good luck Shane, thanks for everything!
sithepie April 20, 2012 2:09 pm
orca April 20, 2012 2:22 pm
LOVE you Shane!
stroudos April 20, 2012 2:57 pm
stroudos April 20, 2012 3:50 pm
A truly inspirational character and it was great to get this insight into his background. I like the bit with Scott Williams about the Argentine fullback: "Never seen a tackle missed by such a large degree!" - mind you, Bryan Habana sliding across the turf on his arse was probably close, (great to see Habana has a sense of humour about that too BTW).
Five mins in I was thinking WHY did he not want to leave that grief-hole where he grew up? (No offence intended to anyone from there or similar places!). But it quickly becomes clear that being so grounded kept him going through the bad times.
Got to say also, there are some quality accents on here- best one must be his mum's: "He's juuust a nooooormaaaal booooy from the vall- eeeeeeeeeeee"...
I wonder if we'll see any more players of his physical stature at the top level. That Marc Andreu was bucking the trend but seems to have fallen out of favour. Look at the Wales wings now - a 6ft 3" monster on one wing and a 6ft 4" monster on the other... Stuart Hogg's relatively small and a devastating runner - maybe he'll keep the flag flying for the littluns.
And will we see such a lethal side-step or general agility? That William Ryder might have been even more elusive but not sure he'd have hacked the XV-a-side game as well as Ickle Shane.
Anyway, great video, thanks for sharing Mr Dump. And let's hope Shane can bow out of club rugby tonight with a similar fairytale ending to his last international match...
Guy April 20, 2012 8:33 pm
I fear that in 10 years from now it will be clear that he is even more unique than we regard him now. He might just be the last of a kind.
stroudos April 20, 2012 9:32 pm
But Marc Andreu really is small: 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in), 75 kg. But haven't seen him playing for France recently...
kadova April 21, 2012 12:09 am
Not a bad player at all but we have better wingers than him, hence you don't see him playing for Les Bleus at the moment.
Guy April 21, 2012 9:06 am
Pretzel April 21, 2012 9:33 am
Impressive, sounds like the hormones kicked in early in that one... :p
j8a1f3 April 21, 2012 12:52 pm
I question whether there's room for a 10 of his size at international level and he does need to work on his defence. He'll still likely to be a great club player if not a Welsh international.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhKUG8nv49g
Grant April 20, 2012 4:54 pm
Nick April 20, 2012 5:58 pm
Munster rugby April 20, 2012 6:32 pm
Dan April 20, 2012 10:23 pm
Stefan April 20, 2012 10:39 pm
The only sad thing about stories like his that are so good is that you wonder if you'll ever see the likes of Shane again in the near future of rugby... But I'll try not to be too pessimistic and just enjoy the rugby on offer at the moment!
Thanks, RD, for the post.
beerholder April 21, 2012 7:15 pm
Juggernauter April 20, 2012 11:55 pm
kadova April 21, 2012 12:13 am
Shaney is one of my favourites players. Even when he scored against my team, i loved it.
The last try at the last match was so brilliant. And what a perfect way to say his farewell.
Canadian content April 21, 2012 12:32 am
sdre April 21, 2012 2:10 am
Pretzel April 21, 2012 5:59 am
He is without a doubt a brilliant player! One of those guys you don't want to see playing well against your team but can't help think "wow" when he produces some magic...
beerholder April 21, 2012 7:13 pm
Jeffro18 April 22, 2012 1:53 am
Rugbydump April 22, 2012 10:41 am
vaiz April 22, 2012 12:17 pm
tenbywill April 22, 2012 9:14 pm
Abracan August 09, 2012 7:49 pm
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