Shane Williams Under-rated?

Seriously. He's always been seen as good but he's never really been rated as the best unanimously. If you think that's because he never was, get yourself on youtube and I ask you: who else could have scored some of those tries?? True welsh great! Forget that, true rugby great. Diolch Shane <3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozrKpWR-UUI

I think he played in a era when there were a number of very good wings playing on better teams. So he got overlooked because he never played on great teams. He did of course, play on a couple of 6N winners, but in general never played on teams consistently at the top level. So during his international career, I don't think he was really regarded as a possible all-time great. But here we are at the end of the line and looking back, he is obviously in the top 10 all time. And still under appreciated. Maybe if he put lifts in his boots?

I never liked him up until maybe a year ago, but ill admit that was through bitterness. I feel like ive missed out on enjoying one of the all time great entertainers of sport. Its quite saddening in a way.

Defiantly underrated sad to see him hang up his international boots !! Seriously talented played with or without the ball!!! Entertaining player and has scored some great tries in his career

He's a quality player and probably the best left wing Wales has ever produced, I don't think anyone in Wales under rates him at all, but fans from other countries tend not to of seen him as much as we have, hence why they don't regard him so highly.

Though a quick look at one of his many highlights YouTube videos will show people his talent.

his tackling is underrated aswell, when i spoke to warburton he said williams is very strong and always puts in the effort to improve what he struggles with- alot of the time tackling and you saw yesterday not that he is a good attack but he gives his all and will make tackles and gets involved as much as possible in the game

Shane was a Welsh great and a very good international winger. His defence is certainly better than of a lot of people give him credit for.

Be careful with YouTube though, you can make anybody look a world-beater with a montage of clips on there!

He hasn't always been great, in fact he probably peaked in his 30s in terms of having more strings to his bow. Luckly for him he didn't lose any pace which is why he remained such a threat.

doctor_grey wrote:I think he played in a era when there were a number of very good wings playing on better teams. So he got overlooked because he never played on great teams. He did of course, play on a couple of 6N winners, but in general never played on teams consistently at the top level. So during his international career, I don't think he was really regarded as a possible all-time great. But here we are at the end of the line and looking back, he is obviously in the top 10 all time. And still under appreciated. Maybe if he put lifts in his boots?

The very words you have written proves he is an all time great

To have achieved what he has in an often underachieving Welsh team .............. can you imagine what he would have achieved in the same period if he played for any SH team, or even England, France or Ireland

Possibly he would have been regarded as the best ever

Cracking servant to Welsh rugby, all time rugby great........I don't think so. I think he was probably underated slightly outside of Wales and overated quite a bit inside.

Nope everyone thinks he is awesome including people outside europe, he was almost the highest try scorer of all time, he won world player of the year and got on lions tours i'd say he is rated about right..

He wouldn't make most peoples best ever 15 but he is a world great and to achieve what he has done at the top level and be somewhere between 5ft 5- 5ft 8 is impressive !!

Jonny Wilkinson was the highest points scorer of all time (despite missing out on several years of rugby), won world player of the year and was also on the lions tours and many welsh still find him over-rated and think he wasn't great.

I'm not saying that to turn it into a wales v england, wilko v williams thread. Just saying that seeing as he was your player you will always consider him as an all time great and, because of this, feel that everyone else under rates him as we dont have as high an opinion of him as you. He was a great player but i think you are pushing it a bit when you say he was over rated.

Comparing Wilko with Williams is a bit misleading. Clearly Wilko was a great but they are such massively different players, Williams scored all his points through tries, when the opposition were trying to tackle him..Wilko's obviously off the boot when it was him v the posts. Williams was a great until his last moment and i am afraid Wilko played an RWC too far. Williams was also tiny and so fleet of foot that he could create a score from nowhere. In my view Wilko was the better all round player, but as a scorer of tries and an entertainer Saint Shane gets the nod

Thats all true gatts but I wasn't trying to compare them in terms of ability. Just in terms of achievements and the respective level of appreciation from fans of differing nations. Which shows that YOUR player will never be appreciated as much as yourself and your other kinsmen do.

WTF. Shane is a Welsh hero. Full stop. 57 tries from 87 games for Wales plus Lions. Get a life!

flyhalffactory wrote:

doctor_grey wrote:I think he played in a era when there were a number of very good wings playing on better teams. So he got overlooked because he never played on great teams. He did of course, play on a couple of 6N winners, but in general never played on teams consistently at the top level. So during his international career, I don't think he was really regarded as a possible all-time great. But here we are at the end of the line and looking back, he is obviously in the top 10 all time. And still under appreciated. Maybe if he put lifts in his boots?

The very words you have written proves he is an all time great

To have achieved what he has in an often underachieving Welsh team .............. can you imagine what he would have achieved in the same period if he played for any SH team, or even England, France or Ireland

Possibly he would have been regarded as the best ever

Hyperbole rears its head again.

Shane Williams was/is an outstanding winger who certaintly deserves to be considered as a possible great player. Time will tell.

But best ever - please some perspective - he is not even the best ever Welsh winger. That title goes to Gerald Davies imv.

Any stats available there Geoff? I think with wingers it's deffo down to tries and I'd like to know how they compare.

No I don't but one thing I do know is Gerald Davis would have played half the games Shane did - they jsut didn't play so much in them days.

I also disagree it is just down to Tries - stopping a try is as good as scoring one.