Williams 'deserves better send-off' than Blues farewell - Warburton

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/18108519

Openside flanker Martyn Williams deserves a better career send-off than he experienced for Cardiff Blues, according to Sam Warburton.

Flanker Williams, 36, will win his 100th Wales cap against the Barbarians on Saturday, 2 June.

Wales captain and Blues man Warburton said: "I was disappointed, to be honest, with the last game at the Blues when there was only about 3,000 there.

"And for a player like Martyn, you think he deserves a better send-off."

Williams' final game for the Blues came in the Pro12 League at Cardiff City Stadium on Sunday, 22 April when they beat Edinburgh 38-13 in front of an official 3,580 attendance.

That crowd figure and other disappointing support at the home of Cardiff City Football Club prompted the Blues to return to Cardiff Arms Park for regular fixtures from next season.

But Warburton hopes Wales' fans can at least turn up in enough numbers for the Barbarians visit to give Williams "his just reward".

And the player who Williams helped nurture at the Blues also believes the former Pontypridd player would rue missing out on a century of Wales caps if the opportunity had not arisen.

"[It's] brilliant for him, yeah. He does really deserve that 100th cap and it would have haunted him for the rest of his life," said Warburton.

"He might not admit that, but I think he'd desperately want it. So I'm really chuffed for him that he's got that [coming]."

Williams was on the winning side when Wales met the Barbarians in 2011 as the invitation club to a dramatic 31-28 win over his own nation.

That was Williams' only match at that level since Wales' November 2010 Tests and was followed by a 99th cap against Argentina in August 2011 as Wales completed their build-up for the 2011 World Cup.

He was left out of the tournament squad and failed to win favour for the 2012 Six Nations in which Warburton's injury paved the way for Osprey Justin Tipuric to make his mark.

When Tipuric was also injured during the Six Nations, Scarlet Aaron Shingler made his debut at openside having built his reputation elsewhere in the back-five.

Those openside preferences have left Williams on the sidelines for their last 13 Tests.

Earlier in his career he was overlooked in favour of Brett Sinkinson, a New Zealander who won 20 caps while playing for Neath.

Sinkinson won 15 of those caps before being ruled ineligible for Wales amid the Grannygate scandal that broke in 2000, and five more after he later qualified for Wales on residency grounds.

If, as is likely, facing the Barbarians is Williams' Test swan song, he will bow out against long-time Wales team-mates Shane Williams, Stephen Jones and Duncan Jones.

However, former Cardiff RFC and Pontypridd flanker Williams is also on standby for the Australia series.

With only seven days in between facing the Barbarians at the Millennium Stadium and taking on the Wallabies, Wales send a 15-strong advance party down under to acclimatise for the tour opener in Brisbane.

Warburton is expected to be among the advance guard as he continues to recover from the shoulder injury that ruled him out of the latter stages of Wales' 2012 Six Nations Grand Slam campaign.

Still think it was terrible that he, Fiilse, Blair, Tito (possibly), Rees, Yapp, Molitika and err Parks played their last games for the Blues after serving the region really well in front of a paltry 3,580 when the Scarlets and Ospreys both got 11k+ to wish good bye to their players who were leaving.

Hopefully, like Warbs says, the BaaBaas will have a much better turn out!

Cheers for everything Nuggett

Martyn wanted his testimonial played at the Arms Park.
Mr Del Monte said no.
Nugget knows the score.

Shame could have been a really special occasion for him

Smirnoffpriest wrote:Shame could have been a really special occasion for him

Yes it could have, but unfortunately "those" in power had an agenda and a game at CAP wouldn't have agreed with it.

I'm tempted to go to the Baa baas game, I might even dye my hair ginger and and buy a welsh shirt with 100 on the back as a tribute to Nugget

or

maybe not.

The 'last' game for these players was so badly marketed as well (no surprise).

Fans still knew it was the last Blues game and that these players would be leaving - and stayed away in their droves...