Shane

I'm from the Amman Valley, which is Glanamman and Garnant.

Not many people will have probably been there, let alone heard of it.

It's one road in, one road out.

You've got a couple of pubs, a rugby club.

It's where I enjoy being, it's where all my friends and family are.

It's probably where I'm going to end up living for the rest of my life, and dying.

# I looked down at the chairs

# I looked down at the tables

# I tried to find the key. #

-COMMENTARY:

-Williams for the corner! A stumble and a dive!

# I've been searching low and high. #

-COMMENTARY:

-Shane Williams for Wales scores! Always a buzz of excitement!

That is world-class!

# I won't get what I'm after Until the day I die. #

I really still can't get over the fact that I've won Grand Slams and achieved so much.

I was fed up of people telling me I was too small.

I love the fact that I've proved a lot of coaches, papers, and TV interviewers wrong.

# They call me the seeker

# I've been searching low and high. #

I wanted people to say, "That Shane Williams is a good player."

# I won't get to get what I'm after

# Until the day I die. #

Cardiff, and the Welsh public are queuing

for a small piece of a favourite son who has called time on his career.

An extraordinary talent from an ordinary background.

My mother and father divorced when I was very young.

I was brought up by my mother with my brother, Dean, sister Hayley,

and Beth came along a little bit later on.

I am the oldest, so I always kind of had to look after them.

Shane would be, I'd say, the man of the house,

because me and their father were no longer together.

I'm probably closer to my brother than anyone else really.

Anything I've done, I always had my younger brother there.

You know, he's my drinking partner and we look after each other.

Not to say that we haven't had our scrapes mind.

There's a couple of legendary scrapes me and him have had in the valley,

but that's the brotherly love we have, really.

I just remember Shane, as a kid,

always either on a bike or running around the village

either with a rugby ball in his hands or football.

After school, he was the guy who organised everything.

Down the park for a game of rugby.

-He'd always be the first one picked!

-Oh yes, definitely!

Whatever sport, even through school. Gymnastics, football, rugby.

I remember the first time I saw him.

They ran out on the field and this little toddler was running behind them!

I said, "Who's that?" "That's Shane."

He was younger than the rest obviously because he was smaller.

But when you saw him play, you couldn't leave him out of the team.

You couldn't look at him, he was that quick.

Honestly, honestly. He was that quick.

At Amman Valley Comprehensive, Shane's size, or lack of it,

marked him out from the rest.

Going into form one, I wasn't that much smaller than everyone else.

But by form two and form three, everyone seemed to have a growth spurt and I was waiting for it.

I found it very difficult.

We used to play 'Bulldog' on the front lawn of the school,

which later got banned because it was so physical.

And I found myself getting hurt quite a lot because I was trying to tackle these big guys

and I was thinking, "Some of these guys are a year younger than me."

So it was tough.

But I kind of got used to that and I didn't take any shit

through school and I still don't now.

I don't think you can.

I remember watching him on the schoolyard

during one morning break when I was on duty.

He was playing touch rugby with his friends.

The skill level was unbelievable.

It wasn't long before he found his way up to the gym

and it was in here that I think he started to develop

those natural skills that he had.

What I liked about gymnastics was the freedom of it all. It took you away from everything else.

It took you away from the lessons, it took you away from the other students you were with,

and I used to enjoy the fact that it was just me doing it and it was me learning on my own.

We used to call him 'The Cat' in those days. He was so quick on his feet.

So aware of everything going on around him.

Anyone knows in school, if you did anything school-related

during your lunch hour you were classed as a nerd,

so it probably wasn't the coolest thing to be doing in a lunch hour,

but I enjoyed it.

I knew when I finished school I wasn't going to be a doctor,

I wasn't going to be an astronaut, I wasn't going to be a brain surgeon.

Always growing up, I wanted to be a stuntman.

But there was no call for that in the Amman Valley

so I probably left school quite clueless really.

He came to a place where I was working

and asked for a summertime job.

I was on £30 a week, helping fitting windows,

making tea or running over the shop which was about a mile and a half away

to get the boss and a few of the guys some food and sandwiches

I had all the tricks played on me.

I was sent over to the stores for some tartan paint and all that crap!

I found out then that they were taking on apprenticeships in the job centre.

First thing I thought,

"It's a cushy job, wear a shirt and tie, you're not out in the cold."

I was working in Ammanford and Garnant job centre signing people on,

the majority of them my friends or people who I knew!

They were obviously working on the side,

but I couldn't see nothing about it!

I loved it. It was a job I probably would have kept on doing if I hadn't become a rugby player.

While working at the job centre,

Shane was living at his nan's house and playing rugby for the village team.

He was building a reputation as a decent scrum-half.

I'd heard that he was playing for Amman United after he left school.

He was about 19 or 20 at that time. He had sort of matured physically.

All the work he had done in the gym and everything else,

it was blossoming.

Soon, word spread beyond the Amman Valley.

I went along to watch Amman United play against...

I think it was Haverfordwest.

There was nothing really to see in Shane,

but he did score a try from 45 metres which was pretty special.

So we invited him down to Neath.

as a second choice scrum-half really,

and see what we could do with him.

It was £150 a week and a substantial transfer fee to Amman United!

Fair play, they were wise enough to understand what they had.

They had seen enough.

I just jumped at the opportunity.

It meant I didn't have to leave the Amman Valley,

I didn't have to move from my friends and family.

I could continue living my life but as a rugby player.

Neath was only 15 miles away, but it was a big step up.

When he first came here,

he looked as if he was straight out of school, to be honest.

He didn't look older than 15.

He was shy, quiet and he sat in the corner on his own

and kept himself to himself.

It wasn't until training when we'd play touch rugby, and I'd think,

"I'm faster than this guy.

"I can beat this guy with a sidestep. I just tackled Darren Morris."

And then the confidence comes and comes and comes.

Off the field then, you almost gain the respect of these people

and you start getting a bit of banter with the international players.

I started thinking then, "Wow! They've got a bit of time for me."

Your confidence and everything just comes.

Then came a masterstroke.

Neath moved their young scrum-half out to the wing.

I was the rugby correspondent with the Daily Mail

and the word came through, I think about late '90s,

that there was this little fella at Neath who had a bit about him

but nobody was too sure whether he'd even be strong enough

to stand up to the pressures of the professional game.

He was electric. What he lacked in physical presence,

he more than made up for with his speed and his ball skills.

You can tell immediately when somebody is good

because he had time and space and he was coming off his wing

and turning up at full-back on the other side, in the centre.

I thought, "You've got some confidence in your ability.

"You've got something going for you."

Shane was still learning his trade. He was producing something special.

It was just a matter of time, that was for certain.

Everybody knew he was going to put the Welsh shirt on one day, but when?

Just 18 months after joining Neath,

Shane, at just 5'7'' seven and eleven and a half stones,

made Graham Henry's squad for the 2000 Six Nations.

His debut came as a replacement against France

at a packed Millennium Stadium.

If I thought it was tough at Neath,

it was 10 times worse going into the Welsh squad.

The likes of Neil Jenkins, I had only seen them on the telly,

and I was completely intimidated by them guys.

They were the superstars at the time and I knew straightaway

that I was the new kid and that I had to work hard to fit in.

-COMMENTARY:

-This guy coming on now as well. Shane Williams.

It's the most scared I've been in my life to be honest with you.

Full crowd, knowing millions of people are watching me.

-COMMENTARY:

-He looks like a 12-year-old doesn't he?!

Hopefully, we'll see him get some ball in hand

because he is a fantastic runner.

It was a bit surreal.

Someone you know so well, so personally, there,

playing for his country.

It was such an honour really.

Having known him, he was there in school

and he'd done so much work and now he was playing for Wales.

-COMMENTARY:

-Left footed kick to Howarth. Shane Williams.

This lad, he can ripple along.

But Ntamack. And Ntamack is away.

He gave the ball away then.

He had a ribbing for that from all the boys.

There were people sitting behind me in the stadium shouting,

"That's it! He'll never play for Wales again!"

Even though I did that, I came off that field and I thought,

"That's one of the best days of my life and I'll never forget it."

Very quickly, Shane became the fresh young face of Welsh rugby.

He just went from Shane Williams to 'SHANE WILLIAMS'.

-COMMENTARY:

-Shane Williams! What a dream!

-COMMENTARY:

-There's a real opportunity here. It must be a try.

Following the hype, came hope and expectation.

All of a sudden, the whole of Wales knows who you are.

Everybody wants to talk to you.

It's an easy business this international rugby, isn't it?

I wouldn't say it's easy. I am absolutely knackered!

You're expected to be a world-class player and not make any mistakes.

Any little mistake you make is in the paper or on the telly and everything else.

That was tough.

I found that very difficult when I started playing for Wales.

I think he's got a long way to go to be honest.

I think you put too much pressure on him.

You don't want to kill a talent like he's got.

So leave him alone and let him get on with it.

Shane's stature had grown. But his body hadn't.

For the new Wales coach, this was a significant weakness.

We were going into the Steve Hansen period

and he was pretty much, size mattered.

Big was beautiful. Everybody had to be 6'3'' plus and 17 stone plus.

The pundits were saying that Shane was a fantastic footballer,

but he's too small. It's a game the big men these days.

Some people doubted Shane Williams's defense. What did you think?

Shane who?

Shane pumped more iron and took more supplements like creatine,

but what really grew was frustration.

They tried to bulk out to make him a little bit bigger

and to make stronger.

But that isn't him. That isn't him at all. He's who he is.

He doesn't have to be bulked out.

I found myself, because I wasn't playing and not being selected,

going out in the week either on a Wednesday or Thursday.

I was drinking on the Saturday or the Sunday.

He wouldn't have been vocal about it,

but as his mother I knew what it was doing to him.

I think there was a stage when he was unsure

whether to stay with the rugby.

We had a sit down and a chat and he had to stop doing it

because it's all well and good trying to be 15 stone

but if you're not on the field doing what you're supposed to be doing,

then you've to stop it because the plan isn't working for whatever reason, right or wrong.

We said, "Look, cut it out and get back on the field doing what you're good at."

Even if you're five stone!

I just started turning things around in the next season.

I was more determined than ever that I was going to get back

and play for Wales again and be as good as I possibly could.

Happier with his shape, Shane rediscovered his form.

But Wales were hitting new lows

and suffered a Six Nations whitewash just a few months before the World Cup.

By 2003, I got to the point where I thought,

"Right, I'm good enough to be starting in this team."

He always had faith that he was good enough

because he kept on measuring against what the other people were offering.

That's what the Welsh public wanted from Steve Hansen,

to give Shane a chance because he was playing well for Neath.

There was one last chance to make the squad.

A warm up game against Romania in Wrexham.

"More recognisable names in the Welsh side.

"Shane Williams, his first start for Wales for over two years."

I knew at the time it was probably a time when it was going to keep me

off their back and keep people off Hansen's back.

"He's been given his chance and that is it", kind of thing.

I just went out there and, what the hell, give it a go, isn't it?

-COMMENTARY:

-Coming in from the wrong side, but it's advantage to Wales.

Nicky Robinson picks out Henson. Shane Williams for the corner!

Williams! And making his presence felt in an international shirt.

Can Shane Williams produce a bit of magic?

Lovely step and go!

I did some crazy stuff - I chipped and caught

and I just tried things in that game and it came off

and I scored two tries.

-COMMENTARY:

-Andy Williams. Shane Williams!

Hansen was convinced, partially.

Shane scraped into the squad as a third-choice scrum half.

I didn't care.

I didn't care if he was taking me as a ball-boy or a tackle pad holder.

It was the fact that I was... I had my foot in the door again

and this was my chance.

# A new age has begun. #

The World Cup - the pinnacle of a rugby player's career.

While Wales muddled through the early games,

Shane was just a spare part,

reduced to sightseeing trips or stewing in his hotel room,

watching and waiting.

It's not so bad if you're involved in the match-day 22

or you know you're going to be playing,

but Shane didn't really have a look in for the first three or four games.

I'd taken the PlayStation with me because we were told

we would have a lot of days where we'd have a bit of free time.

We were in Canberra for a long time

and there's not much in Canberra, to be honest with you.

I was asking Steve why I wasn't selected and he kept telling me that I'd have my chance.

I'd have training sessions where I'd be the opposition.

I was playing as Tonga as a counter-attack

so Wales were kicking to me and he told me,

"When you get the ball,

"just put it back in the air because this is what Tonga do."

They kicked the ball to me and I thought,

"I can see a hole there, there's a chance here",

so I stepped one of the players

and I went through this hole and he just went absolutely berserk.

"I effin' told you to put it up in the air."

I was like, "There was an effin' gap there, I wanted to go for it."

"If you defend like this against Tonga, they're going to score."

In the end I told him to eff off.

And, you know, he told me to eff off.

He came up to me after training and said, "Don't ever talk to me like that in front of the players again."

I was like, "Don't talk to me like that in front of the players."

I think...I put my point out there anyway. I had nothing to lose.

I wasn't playing... so who gives a shit?

Wales qualified for the quarter-finals

but still faced a game against the others who had gone through, mighty New Zealand.

When the result didn't matter,

Hansen gave Shane his chance to shine or be shoved aside.

The team we put out together wouldn't have played as a team

and they were chucked in as lambs to the slaughter.

"Having spoken to the New Zealand squad, we've been told that anything less than 50 points

"would be an under-achievement."

About four or five days before that game, I was ill,

and I just remember thinking, this is just my luck.

If I don't play in this game, I'm probably never going to play for Wales again.

You're feeling for him because he more or less just held bags

or acted...pretending to be a Tongan or Italian for three weeks in training

against the first 15, and then, when he finally got his chance, he was cooped up all week.

The 24 hours before it, before the game, I was feeling a lot better,

but I was so stiff and I felt so lethargic. I thought, "Oh, god."

But the next day I was bouncing and I couldn't wait for that whistle.

I remember meeting his father in Tesco in Ammanford.

He told me that Shane was playing in that game.

I thought, "Shane, boy, this is your chance to show what you can do."

It started off

and I thought Wales were going to get splattered.

It was one of those where you were thinking, this could be messy.

-COMMENTARY:

-Joe Rokocoko gets the ball on the outside

and he's over for the try within just over a minute of play.

All of the sudden, Wales started building this lead

and we thought, this is pretty phenomenal.

-COMMENTARY:

-Brilliant man and ball tackle by MacDonald

but it's still on.

Taylor has a man spare but doesn't need him

and Mark Taylor gets the try that gets the crowd on their feet.

It was running rugby at its best and Shane exploited the gaps.

-COMMENTARY:

-Shane Williams. Lovely step!

He's through. One more man to beat.

Shane Williams tries to dance past him

and gets the pass to Shanklin, out to Sonny Parker! What a try!

He was utterly devastating.

-COMMENTARY:

-Williams goes the long way round. Dummies inside.

That's a brilliant run from Shane Williams.

He's got Sweeney inside! To Sidoli.

We were all like, "Shit!"

-COMMENTARY:

-Cooper out to Gareth Thomas.

Floats it out and it's Shane Williams.

This is absolutely incredible!

And then, all of a sudden, people thought, who's this little fella?

It was no surprise that he performed as he did to us at Neath.

We always knew he could do that.

It had taken a 10,000 mile journey from Glanamman to Australia

for Shane's talent to be recognised.

The small man from the Amman Valley had now won over the doubters.

They fell in love with Shane because he epitomised the underdog.

The little guy up against the big fella.

It was like sending Barry McGuigan out to fight Mike Tyson.

It was so unequal it was unfair.

I was fed up of people telling me I was too small and everything.

I was more determined than ever.

The World Cup had been make-or-break,

now Shane would show everyone what he could do.

-COMMENTARY:

-A try-scoring pass to Shane Williams!

I love the fact I proved a lot of people wrong. I love that fact.

-COMMENTARY:

-Shane Williams doing what he does best,

jinking inside and he's away.

He got you on the edge of your seat.

-COMMENTARY:

-Williams! He's there!

When he wasn't there, you were thinking, are we going to score?

We were in Argentina and he made a break

and he had a one-on-one with the Argentinian full-back

and I've never seen a missed tackle by a greater distance.

I've looked at that time and time again,

thinking, "That defies physics!"

And as Shane's reputation grew, Wales reaped the rewards.

The 2005 Grand Slam came out of the blue.

The 2008 one didn't come out of the blue,

that just came from another planet.

-COMMENTARY:

-Williams, what can he create? He can create magic again.

Shane Williams! And Williams for the corner.

The reasons we won that Grand Slam was, one, our defence, and, two, Shane Williams.

-COMMENTARY:

-Stephen Jones. Now some width.

Shane Williams, always a buzz of excitement.

Williams has scored!

Opponents lived in fear.

His coaches just felt blessed.

When he got the ball, they thought, "How am I going to stop this guy,

"because I don't know which way he's going to go."

-COMMENTARY:

-Knock on by Jauzion.

Shane Williams pounces. Williams. It's a foot race.

Shane Williams is going to get... Oh, break away try!

He was the double Grand Slam winner and the whole world saluted.

-COMMENTARY:

-Shane Williams is going to use all his trickery.

That is mesmeric! That's world class!

You knew you were going to get a tough challenge, coming up against Shane.

I had one or two instances where Shane make me sit on my bum.

-COMMENTARY:

-Just needs to beat Habana. Wonderful!

In 2008, the boy from Glanamman

was voted the best rugby player on the planet.

Ladies and gentlemen, IRB Player of the Year for 2008, Shane Williams.

APPLAUSE

I really still can't get over the fact

that I was voted IRB World Player of the Year,

that I've won Grand Slams and I've achieved so much with some great players and teams.

I'm immensely proud and humble of the fact that I've done that.

There's no big-headedness there or nothing,

he's just a normal person from the valley.

That's one thing I'm glad - that all this hasn't changed him.

I've had the walks of the two lives.

I've had the high life, I've been to parties and met people,

I've got celebrity friends and I do enjoy that side of it,

but I think I enjoy the fact that I can come away from that

and be brought down to earth by the family and just enjoy being myself.

At the age of 34, Shane's rugby career was drawing to a close.

After wearing the red shirt of Wales for eleven-and-a-half years,

he decided to bow out, enjoying one final day in the spotlight.

The week leading up to it was incredible.

There was a lot of attention, knowing it was my last game.

Starting at nine will be Mr Lloyd Williams.

Rhys Priestland at 10. Myself, of course.

Erm, Jamie Roberts.

We had days where we had Shane Williams Day

where everyone decided to turn up with a Shane Williams mask

and it was all fun, a great week and a great send-off for me.

The last match was against Australia.

A fond farewell to savour for fans, friends and family.

I was more nervous in that game than

I probably have been in the majority of the Welsh Games I've played.

I knew it was the last time

we'd be up there as a family watching him.

# I never thought I'd miss you

# Half as much as I do

# And I never thought I'd feel this way

# The way I feel about you. #

I've never cried during the national anthem but I was gone.

I couldn't do anything about it.

We were shouting, pass the ball,

because I've watched him play for so long,

he'd have scored if he'd the ball. I knew that.

-COMMENTARY:

-Shane Williams!

# It must be love, love, love

# It must be love, love, love

# Nothing more, nothing less

# Love is the best. #

Every time I put this jersey on, it's the best feeling ever,

and I'm going to miss it.

But...it has all been a great journey for me,

I've enjoyed every second of it, the ups and the downs,

and I just want to say thank you to all the supporters

and especially everyone here today.

CHEERING

It's meant a hell of a lot to me. Thank you very much.

It was a great send-off for me.

I had a fantastic day and I loved every minute of it.

To have my kids and my family there,

to have Georgie and Carter on the field after the game,

you could see how much it meant to me.

I probably cried for about 36 hours afterwards.

Shane Williams played 87 matches for Wales and scored 58 tries.

No-one has ever scored more than the boy from Glanamman.

No-one has stood as tall.

He's given a lot of people clear understanding

of what can be done with talent despite your natural size.

You can dominate the world.

You can't get more proud, you can't get more proud.

The working-class boy still stayed with his roots

and I think the Welsh people like people of that nature and ilk.

He finds it so difficult

to call me by my first name.

I prompt him quite often.

He still calls me Mr Beynon or calls me nothing at all.

People say, "You're a legend." It gets thrown around a little bit.

I don't see it like that, I really don't.

It embarrasses me a little bit when people say that.

Legends to me are Gerald Davieses and the Gareth Edwardses.

When people bracket me with them guys,

I still don't see it, to be honest with you.

What I always say is that I'm just Shane.

-COMMENTARY:

-Scott Williams, Shane Williams. He's there!

He's going to go out with a flourish.

Last game, last try.

Shane Williams off in style.

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E-mail [email protected].