Put simply, Shane Williams is a legend of the game.
His 60 tries from 91 international caps gives him a better strike rate than the iconic Jonah Lomu and puts him fourth on the all-time list – third among tier one nations.
In 2008 he was named IRB World Player of the Year after scoring six tries as part of a Welsh Grand Slam-winning team in that year’s Six Nations.
Now, four years on from scoring a try in Wales’s World Cup quarter-final win over Ireland, the legendary winger sat down with JOE earlier in the week to talk about injury problems, Australia’s power and his country’s chances against the mighty Springboks.
How big of an achievement is it for Wales to have made it through their pool with all of those injuries?
It was always going to be tough. The group was tough – you had three top tier one teams fighting each other to get through and obviously there was only room for two. Despite all the injuries, they did it so they’ll be happy.
They’ll probably look at the Australia game and say that’s a game that got away as well. However, Australia were superb last weekend, so they’ll be happy to be through and just concentrating on South Africa now.
How impressed were you with the way Australia were able to defend their line with just 13 men?
I was impressed full stop with Australia – especially their defence, particularly the period in which they went down to 13 men. Their line speed and desire to make the tackle behind the gain line is what won them the game, that’s for sure.
It revitalised them as a team and they had their full strength back on the field then. They were by far the better team for the last 15 minutes.
You always expect Australia to have the firepower behind the scrum and the lineout but now they’ve got a strong defence and a very strong set piece to back that up as well.
There’s been a reshuffle of the Welsh backline for the South Africa match. Would you expect to see someone like James Hook come in?
It’s a headache and a half for Warren Gatland to have. George North played well against Australia in the outside centre. Defensively he was very good. He got into the game a bit more than he has when he played on the wing.
However, Liam Williams has gone down injured so the backs are really down to their bare bones, so bringing someone like James Hook in centre would really benefit Wales, I believe. He’s got the skills to play in that position and he’s an experienced player who’s been there for some time.
That would be my choice if I’m honest, and then put George North back to the wing. But it’s down to how Warren Gatland sees it. It’s a tough one. You’ve got to rack your brain to remember what players are actually left and not injured.
Matthew Morgan will probably feel a little hard done by that the didn’t play against Australia. I thought he did really well against Fiji. It’s one of those headscratchers really, where you’ve got to slot players into where you think they’ll fit and I think James Hook would definitely do a job in the centre.
Against Australia, Gatland went for Justin Tipuric and Sam Warburton in the same team. Do you think we’ll see that again going forward or was it simply because Dan Lydiate was injured?
I think it definitely worked against Australia. They nullified Pocock. They almost ganged up against Pocock and made sure he wasn’t as effective as he was against England at the breakdown. I think he had one turnover – and he was still a thorn in Wales’s side – but perhaps not as effective as Australia would have liked.
Knowing Gatland, he’s a big fan of Dan Lydiate. And Lydiate did have an injury against Australia so he was rested so I think they’ll just go back to the 6-7 combination of Lydiate and Warburton for this game.
It’s going to be won up front. We know that South Africa have the likes of Schalk Burger and these big guys going forward will try to run over the top of our players. That doesn’t happen very often with Lydiate.
Do you think South Africa have turned things around since their opening day defeat to Japan?
I’ve been very impressed which the way in which they’ve conducted themselves. They didn’t sulk over the fact that they had lost to Japan, they got on with things.
They just tried to keep it low key – they didn’t make a fuss in the papers. I think [South Africa coach]Â Heyneke Meyer’s done a good job of really taking the brunt of the stick. In a short space of time, South Africa have had to turn their World Cup around and start performing well again.
They’ve gone from disaster to people talking about them winning the World Cup. I think it was the kick up the backside the players needed. Since then, they’ve been quite outstanding, to be fair.
It’s revitalised players like JP Pieterson and Bryan Habana. They really have grabbed South Africa by the scruff of the neck and made them look like contenders again. I’ve been really impressed with how they’ve bounced back.
What’s your prediction for the match then?
I see Wales winning, I really do. Defensively they were superb against Australia – it’s no easy feat to stop Australia from scoring a try. I think the breakdown is going to be key. It’s going to be so physical with players like Burger and Louw there trying to smash everything that stands in their way.
Discipline-wise, Wales have got to be a little more clever with the breakdown. I just think Wales have got the upper hand. They know they beat South Africa in their last encounter. They’re going to be just as physical and that’s what South Africa pride themselves on.
You’ve got players like George North and these guys in the backs that we haven’t really seen enough of and they can contend with the likes of Habana and Pieterson. I really do see Wales winning this game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfX6wgO-Kzk&feature=youtu.be
Shane Williams stars in ‘NatWest presents The Flying Winger’ a spectacular film taking rugby to new heights. NatWest is a partner of England Rugby and the WRU. Follow @NatWest_Rugby or like NatWest Rugby on Facebook for more
