Shane Williams (Australian Footballer)
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Shane Mark Williams, (born 26 February 1977) is a Welsh former
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
player most famous for his long and successful tenure as a
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for the
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and the Wales national team. He also played scrum-half on occasion. Williams is the record try scorer for Wales, and fourth on the international
list of leading rugby union test try scorers This is a list of the leading Try (rugby), try scorers in men's rugby union Test match (rugby union), test matches. It includes players with a minimum of 30 test tries. Try scorers ''As of 16 March 2025.'' Notes References See also * I ...
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. Playing mainly as a wing, he is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. He played for the , the and ...
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 ...
. 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 award presented annually by World Rugby at the World Rugby Awards. It is given to honour "the achievements of those involved at the highest level of the world game on the field". First presente ...
, 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 S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speakin ...
's Six Nations rugby programme ''Y Clwb Rygbi Rhyngwladol'', and as a pundit on
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,
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and
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
broadcasts as well as third party shows such as "Inside Welsh Rugby", commenting on the grassroots of Welsh rugby. Williams was selected to the
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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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two 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
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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 known as 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 ...
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 othe ...
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, Warwickshire, River Avon. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, its population was 78,117, making it the List of Warwickshire towns by population, secon ...
.


Early life

Williams was born in
Morriston Morriston (; ) 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 the Swansea county. Morriston is sometimes referred to ...
in
Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
, but grew up in
Glanamman Glanamman () is a mining village in the valley of the River Amman in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Glanamman has long been a stronghold of the Welsh language; village life is largely conducted in Welsh. Like the neighbouring village of Garnant it ex ...
in the
Amman Valley Amman Valley may refer to: *The valley that hosts Downtown Amman *The valley of the River Amman * Amman Valley Hospital *Amman Valley Railway * Amman Valley Railway Society *Amman Valley School Ysgol Dyffryn Aman ( Amman Valley School) is a bilin ...
. 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 ( Amman Valley School) is a bilingual ( Welsh and English) comprehensive school and sixth form in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is situated on Margaret Street in the north of Ammanford town centre. The school has approx ...
). 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, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
instead, playing for
Cwmamman United A.F.C. Cwmamman United A.F.C are a Welsh football team formed in 1976. They are based in the village of Glanaman which is in Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, s ...
; in his first appearance for the club's junior team, Williams had to play in goal 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 Wales, Welsh rugby union team from River Amman, 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 ...
; 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 Amman United Club () is a Jordanian professional basketball club based in the capital city of Amman. Amman United made their debut in the 2024–25 Jordanian Premier Basketball League season, as well as the FIBA West Asia Super League in 2 ...
he joined
Neath Neath (; ) 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 population of 19,2 ...
as a second-choice scrum-half. However, it became apparent to
Lyn Jones Richard Lyn Jones (born 5 June 1964) is a Wales international rugby union former player. Originally playing as a flanker, Jones subsequently became a coach. He played most of his playing career for Neath RFC and started his coaching career at t ...
, 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
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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 Amman United Club () is a Jordanian professional basketball club based in the capital city of Amman. Amman United made their debut in the 2024–25 Jordanian Premier Basketball League season, as well as the FIBA West Asia Super League in 2 ...
during the 2016 – 2017 season, including a try-scoring appearance in the 2017 WRU Bowl final at the
Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...
. 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 Sir Stephen William Hansen and High Chief of Vaiala, (born 7 May 1959) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. He is also the father of Black Ferns assistant coach, Whitney Hansen. He was the head coach of the New Zealand na ...
'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 The 2005 Six Nations Championship was the sixth Six Nations Championship played since the competition expanded in 2000 to include Italy national rugby union team, Italy. Including the Home Nations and Five Nations Championships, this was the 111th ...
, 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 national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...
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 organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by F ...
, Williams earned his 50th cap against
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. 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
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in their
2008 Six Nations Championship The 2008 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2008 RBS 6 Nations because of sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the ninth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship, the 114th series of the international championship. Fifteen ...
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 The 2008 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2008 RBS 6 Nations because of sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the ninth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship, the 114th series of the international championship. Fifteen ...
, 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 World Rugby, International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japa ...
squad in New Zealand and scored three tries. One of them being scored in the quarter final against
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
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 World Rugby, International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japa ...
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 to 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 brumby, feral horses wh ...
.


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 () is a seaside town and community (Wales), community in the county of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It lies within Carmarthen Bay. Notable features include of sandy beaches and the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, the 13th-century Tenby Town Walls, me ...
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 mining village in the valley of the River Amman in Carmarthenshire, Wales, 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 co ...
. The couple have two children.


Honours


Individual

IRB Player of the Year -
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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 S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speakin ...
. 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 Stella or STELLA may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Films * ''Stella'' (1921 film), directed by Edwin J. Collins * ''Stella'' (1943 film), with Zully Moreno * ''Stella'' (1950 film), with Ann Sheridan and Victor Mature * ''Stella'' (1955 ...
. In February 2012, Williams joined the team of
BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...
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. As part of a job-swap documentary for Irish television broadcast on 1 March 2017, Williams trained for and played
Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...
for Glenswilly; in return, Michael Murphy was sent to train with French rugby club
Clermont Auvergne Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne () is a French professional 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 t ...
. 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 profile
*
Rick 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 Wales, Welsh rugby union team from River Amman, 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 ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Shane 1977 births Living people Barbarian F.C. players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales British expatriates in Japan Welsh 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 21st-century Welsh sportsmen People educated at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman Rugby union players from Morriston Rugby union wings Rugby union players from Carmarthenshire Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players Welsh Gaelic footballers World Rugby Awards winners World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees World Rugby Players of the Year 2003 Rugby World Cup players 2007 Rugby World Cup players 2011 Rugby World Cup players