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Shane Mark Williams, (born 26 February 1977) is a Welsh
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
player most famous for his long and successful tenure as a
wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...
for the Ospreys and the Wales national team. He also played scrum-half on occasion. Williams is the record try scorer for Wales, and is fourth on the international
list of leading rugby union test try scorers This is a list of the leading try scorers in men's rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of r ...
behind
Daisuke Ohata is a former Japanese rugby union player. He usually played on the wing, and sometimes at centre, for the Japanese national team. He made his name internationally as a speedy ace in the World Rugby Sevens Series (then known as the IRB World Sevens ...
,
Bryan Habana Bryan Gary Habana OIS (born 12 June 1983) is a South African former professional rugby union player who initially played as an outside centre but later on, he shifted to the wing. He most recently played for Toulon in the French Top 14 compet ...
and
David Campese David Ian Campese, AM (born 21 October 1962), also known as Campo, is a former Australian rugby union player (1982-1996), who was capped by the Wallabies 101 times, and played 85 Tests at wing and 16 at fullback. He retired in 1996 and was aw ...
. He is Wales's most capped winger and is considered to be one of the greatest wingers of all time. In 2008, Williams was selected as the
World Rugby Player of the Year The World Rugby Men's 15s Player of the Year is an accolade awarded annually by World Rugby at the World Rugby Awards. The award is presented to honour "the achievements of those involved at the highest level of the world game on the field". Th ...
, then known as the IRB Player of the Year. Since his retirement from international rugby in 2012, Williams has worked as a presenter on S4C's Six Nations rugby programme ''Y Clwb Rygbi Rhyngwladol'', and as a pundit on
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
,
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and
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
broadcasts as well as third party shows such as "Inside Welsh Rugby", commenting on the grassroots of Welsh rugby. Williams was selected to the
Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...
squad that played Wales in June 2012. It was originally planned to be his last appearance as a player, but he shortly thereafter signed a one-year contract to play in Japan with
Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars also known as Mitsubishi Juko Sagamihara Rugby Club, are a Japanese rugby union team based in Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The owner of this club is Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The club was founded in 1981. It ...
in June 2012. Williams was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to rugby. Williams extended his stay in Japan several times, taking on a role as player-coach and turning down an offer from French Top 14 side
Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
in the process. Before finally announcing he would be returning home at the end of the 2014–15 Japanese
Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...
season. In November 2016, Williams was inducted into the
World Rugby Hall of Fame The World Rugby Hall of Fame (formerly the IRB Hall of Fame) recognises special achievement and contribution to the sport of rugby union. The World Rugby Hall of Fame covers players, coaches, administrators, match officials, institutions and other ...
during opening ceremonies for the Hall's first physical home in
Rugby, Warwickshire Rugby is a market town in eastern Warwickshire, England, close to the River Avon. In the 2021 census its population was 78,125, making it the second-largest town in Warwickshire. It is the main settlement within the larger Borough of Rugby whi ...
.


Early life

Williams was born in
Morriston Morriston (; cy, Treforys ) is a Community (Wales), community in the City and County of Swansea, Wales and falls within the Morriston (electoral ward), Morriston ward. It is the largest community in Swansea county. Morriston is sometimes ref ...
in
Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...
, but grew up in Glanamman in the
Amman Valley Amman Valley may refer to: *The valley of the River Amman * Amman Valley Hospital *Amman Valley Railway The Amman Valley Railway Society ( cy, Rheilffordd Dyffryn Aman) is situated near the former Gwaun Cae Gurwen branch line, that runs alongsid ...
. He picked up his first rugby ball while still in primary school, and was always small for his age, even going into secondary school at Amman Valley Comprehensive School (now
Ysgol Dyffryn Aman Ysgol Dyffryn Aman is a bilingual (Welsh and English) comprehensive school and VI form. On average, it has about 2000 pupils. It is located on Margaret Street, Ammanford, Carmarthenshire in Wales. Admissions It is a mixed-gender non-denomination ...
). Told that he was too small to play rugby, Williams took up
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
instead, playing for Cwmamman United A.F.C.; in his first appearance for the club's junior team, Williams had to play
in goal IN, In or in may refer to: Places * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Indepe ...
as no one else would volunteer to take the position. Williams' former junior football coach, Alun Rees, remembers him as a "superb goalkeeper", but notes that he could also play outfield. Williams played for Cwmamman United up to the senior level, while only playing rugby sporadically, and admits that, at the time, football was " ismain sport". However, on the day of Cwmamman United's cup final, Williams was invited to play rugby with his friends at
Amman United RFC Amman United Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh rugby union team from the Amman valley north of Swansea. The club plays at Cwmamman Recreation Ground between Garnant and Glanamman; before the coal-mining boom the two towns were a single village ca ...
; Amman United ended up winning by 82 points, with Williams scoring five tries.


Club career

Williams started his junior career as a scrum-half at Amman United he joined
Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...
as a second-choice scrum-half. However, it became apparent to
Lyn Jones Lyn Jones (born 1964) is a former Wales international rugby union player, and now works as a coach. A flanker, Jones has experience at various different levels of the game, both as a player and a coach. Jones played most of his playing career for ...
, Neath's then-coach, that Williams simply could not be left out of the side, and placed him on the right wing, opposite Delme Williams on the left. However, Delme Williams had shown a tendency not to kick and chase the ball, resulting in him and Shane swapping wings. When it came to Williams signing his first professional contract with Neath, Amman United demanded a transfer fee for him, resulting in negotiations between the two clubs. Nevertheless, Williams eventually signed for Neath on a contract worth approximately £7,500 ''per annum'', equivalent to his wage at the local
Job Centre An employment agency is an organization which matches employers to employees. In developed countries, there are multiple private businesses which act as employment agencies and a publicly-funded employment agency. Public employment agencies One ...
where he was working part-time. In his final Ospreys match at the Liberty Stadium he finished his career there in a similar style as he did with Wales scoring a try past the 80-minute mark and converted his own try for his final bow at the Liberty. Williams then, in his last game of professional club rugby, scored 2 tries for the Ospreys in the PRO12 final 30–31 win against Leinster. This included one in the 78th minute to give Dan Biggar what proved to be the winning conversion. Williams planned to retire from rugby and join Ospreys' backroom staff, but received an offer to play one season in Japan with
Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars also known as Mitsubishi Juko Sagamihara Rugby Club, are a Japanese rugby union team based in Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The owner of this club is Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The club was founded in 1981. It ...
, in the second division of the
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
league system. The Ospreys gave him their blessing for the move, and he took up his staff role with that club upon the expiry of his Japanese contract. He officially retired from playing at the end of the 2013/14 season, although he returned to play for his home village club, Amman United during the 2016 – 2017 season, including a try-scoring appearance in the 2017 WRU Bowl final at the
Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...
. He now works as a commentator and pundit.


International career

Williams was awarded his first cap for Wales by
Graham Henry Sir Graham William Henry (born 8 June 1946) is a New Zealand rugby union coach, and former head coach of the country's national team, the All Blacks. Nicknamed 'Ted', he led New Zealand to win the 2011 World Cup. Henry played rugby union for ...
as a replacement against France in the 2000 Six Nations season, he was three weeks short of his 23rd birthday and weighed a little over 11 stone. He scored in his first full start for Wales with a try against Italy in the same Six Nations tournament and went on to score a total of 60 international tries (58 for Wales, 2 for the British & Irish Lions). Williams is also Wales' record try scorer in Six Nations Championships with 22 and Wales' record try scorer in Rugby World Cups with 10. In addition, he has scored six tries for the Lions in tour games, five of which were in one game. He suffered a series of hamstring injuries in 2002 and did not often figure in Steve Hansen's squad. He considered quitting rugby entirely at this time. He was taken to the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia as a third choice scrum half. He was selected in the final group game against New Zealand as Wales made numerous changes to their starting fifteen. It was in this game and the following against England that he really showed his world class potential and ensured that he would be a first choice winger for Wales from this point onwards. He was part of the Grand Slam-winning Wales side in the 2005 Six Nations Championship, where he scored tries against Italy, Scotland, and most famously England, the try that helped them achieve a famous 11–9 victory that got their campaign underway. He was then selected to the
British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...
for their 2005 New Zealand tour. On 28 June, he equalled a single-game Lions record by scoring five tries in a tour match against Manawatu. In the summer of 2007, Williams underwent elbow and shoulder surgery and missed the tour of Australia. However, he did return in time to play the last Rugby World Cup warm up game against France. During the
2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 2 ...
, Williams earned his 50th cap against
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. He scored two tries in that match, temporarily putting him on top of the 2007 Rugby World Cup try-scoring table with a total of five tries. The tries also put him above
Ieuan Evans Ieuan Cennydd Evans (born 21 March 1964) is a former rugby union player who played on the wing for Wales and the British and Irish Lions. He is the fourth highest try scorer for Wales behind Shane Williams, George North and Gareth Thomas an ...
on the all-time Wales try scoring list, trailing only Gareth Thomas at that time. His try against
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in their 2008 Six Nations Championship decider on 15 March 2008 placed him joint eighth on the all-time test try scoring list with Thomas, and surpassed Thomas on the all-time Wales try scoring list. He participated in a second Grand Slam win with Wales in the 2008 Six Nations Championship, when he scored tries against Scotland (twice), Italy (twice), Ireland, and France, breaking the record on the all-time Wales try scoring list in the championship's final match against France, when he scored his 41st try for Wales. This try resulted in his father Mark Williams winning £25,000 from a £50 bet placed almost 10 years previously that he'd one day become Wales' leading try scorer. His performances in the Six Nations led to him being named the player of the tournament. On 23 November 2008, Williams became the first Welshman to be named IRB Player of the Year, beating fellow Welshman Ryan Jones, New Zealand's Dan Carter, Scotland captain Mike Blair, and Italy captain Sergio Parisse. On 7 December 2008, he won the BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality of the Year, seeing off the competition of Tom James, David Roberts, Geraint Thomas and runners up Joe Calzaghe and Nicole Cooke. In his first
2009 Six Nations The 2009 Six Nations Championship, known as the RBS 6 Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 10th Six Nations Championship, and the 115th international championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the six major European national ...
game against Scotland he scored his 45th test try to take him above Jeff Wilson on the all-time leading try scorers list to sixth. During the game he received an ankle injury and was taken off the pitch. Following the injury he missed the next game against England, but would start for Wales' third game against France. In the fourth game of the championship, Williams scored Wales' opening try against Italy to take himself to equal fifth on the all-time leading try scorers list. On 21 April 2009, Williams was named as a member of the British & Irish Lions for the 2009 tour to South Africa. Williams missed out on a starting place in the first two Tests but was selected to play in the final Test where he produced a man-of-the-match winning performance and scored two tries that contributed to the 28–9 victory over the Springboks. On 21 November 2009, Williams scored two tries in Wales' comfortable 33–16 win over Argentina in the Millennium Stadium, taking his international try tally to 50. On 13 February 2010, Williams scored the winning try against Scotland in Cardiff, completing a remarkable Welsh comeback. Wales trailed 24–14 with 4 minutes remaining in the game, and Williams' try on the last play of the game took the final score to 31–24 to Wales. It was Williams' 49th international try for Wales (51st in all internationals), and his 18th in the Six Nations, equalling the record by a Welshman in the tournament, held by Gareth Edwards. On 26 February 2010, Williams again scored in the final minute in the 26–20 loss to France. This score handed him sole position of tries scored by a Welshman in the tournament with 19 tries for his country. He would subsequently increase his Six Nations tally to 22 tries. He was a part of the
2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...
squad in New Zealand and scored three tries. One of them being scored in the quarter final against
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
in Wellington. Wales reached the semi-finals. Williams stated that he would retire from playing for Wales after the
2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...
but later decided to play against Australia on 3 December 2011. Williams' last Wales match ended in him scoring a final try to round off his glittering career. He scored his 58th try with the very last touch of his international career in added time as the game finished 24–18 to Australia. He said that wearing the Welsh jersey was the "best feeling ever". In 2013 Williams was heading out to Australia to commentate on the British & Irish Lions test games. On 15 June 2013, Williams was called up to the Lions squad to face the
ACT Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005–2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the feral horses which inh ...
.


Personal life

In August 2005, a holiday to Cyprus made the headlines when Williams was erroneously held over an assault. The police lost his passport; his lawyer described the whole incident as a "total stitch-up"; and on his return to the United Kingdom, Williams suggested that he should have spent his holiday in
Tenby Tenby ( cy, Dinbych-y-pysgod, lit=fortlet of the fish) is both a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the western side of Carmarthen Bay, and a local government community. Notable features include of sandy beaches and the Pembroke ...
instead. On 23 December 2005, Williams married his childhood sweetheart, Gail Branwen Lacey, whom he had met at Amman Valley School 14 years previously, at Twyn Church in
Garnant Garnant is a Welsh mining village in the valley of the River Amman in Carmarthenshire, north of Swansea. Like the neighbouring village of Glanamman it experienced a coal-mining boom in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but the last big col ...
. The couple's first daughter, Georgie, was born on 7 November 2006. The couple later had a son, Carter, born 11 July 2009.


Points record

Statistics as of 3 May 2008, taken from the official site of the Ospreys, as of 22 April 2012 taken from the official site of the Welsh Rugby Union and the British & Irish Lions.


Television appearances

Williams has appeared numerous times in Welsh language television programmes on S4C. He was green gunged with swimmer David Davies in the Crawfr children's television programme and in 2011 has appeared in Clwb Rygbi Shane. In 2012, Williams made a cameo appearance as himself in an episode of the UK TV comedy drama Stella. In February 2012, Williams joined the team of BBC Wales pundits, covering the Six Nations. In 2012 he had a TV appearance on BBC2 showing his careers beginning with his gymnastics in Amman Valley School where he was played by 15-year-old Jonathan Coleman. He proceeded to give Jonathan a signed shirt for him taking his time to perform for the film crew for his television programme. As part of a job-swap documentary for Irish television broadcast on 1 March 2017, Williams trained for and played
Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...
for Glenswilly; in return,
Michael Murphy Michael, Mick, or Mike Murphy may refer to: Artists and entertainers * Michael Murphy (actor) (born 1938), American actor * Mike Murphy (musician) (1946–2006), American drummer for the Bee Gees and Chicago * Michael Bryan Murphy, lead singer ...
was sent to train with French rugby club
Clermont Auvergne Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne () is a French rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two times French ...
. Williams scored four points (three from play) on his debut for the club in January, playing as
full forward Full-forward is a position in Australian rules football and Gaelic football with a key focus on kicking goals. The Coleman Medal is awarded to the player, often a full-forward, who has kicked the most goals in an Australian Football League seaso ...
. He continued to maintain the links he had established with the club. BBC One Wales aired a documentary in 2017 called ''Shane – For the love of the game''. This documentary followed Williams as he went to work with his family firm, tried new sports and attempted to build a life without rugby.


References


External links


Shane Williams' details on the Ospreys websiteWales profileRick O'Shea visits Shane Williams's home club
– TV segment on his early days with
Amman United RFC Amman United Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh rugby union team from the Amman valley north of Swansea. The club plays at Cwmamman Recreation Ground between Garnant and Glanamman; before the coal-mining boom the two towns were a single village ca ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Shane 1977 births Living people Barbarian F.C. players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales British expatriates in Japan Expatriate rugby union players in Japan Gaelic football forwards Members of the Order of the British Empire Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars players Neath RFC players Ospreys (rugby union) players People from Morriston People educated at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman Rugby union players from Morriston Rugby union wings Wales international rugby union players Welsh expatriate rugby union players Welsh Gaelic footballers World Rugby Awards winners World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees World Rugby Players of the Year