Williams ready to roar on tour - Sport in brief - Evening Standard
       

Williams ready to roar on tour

Shane Williams assembles for his final British and Irish Lions tour, declaring: "I would like to go out with a bang."

After some mixed experiences in New Zealand four years ago - Williams scored a Lions record-equalling five tries in one game, but featured in just one Test - he is determined to make the most of this latest opportunity.

"I would like to think I am a little more experienced now, and that I can go on this tour and be very successful, both team-wise and personally," he said. "I think the grounds suit me in South Africa. It will be my last Lions tour, and I would like to go out with a bang and be part of something really special."

The 32-year-old Wales and Ospreys wing will report for duty at the Lions' Surrey training base, where preparations are set to begin in earnest ahead of departure next Sunday.

An in-form Williams could prove a Lions match-winner as the tourists look to emulate their 1997 Test series triumph against world champions South Africa.

But captain Paul O'Connell apart, Test places are up for grabs during the six-match schedule that prefaces the opening Springboks showdown in Durban on June 20.

"They are a very physical side - from numbers one to 15 - but what you find with South Africa is they are very structurally sound," he added.

"They have a very good lineout and scrum, which means they don't lose much ball and they win quite a lot of the opposition's, and they have got a lot of pace behind the scrum, with some of the deadliest finishers around."

Williams' 46 tries in 65 Tests for Wales make him a dangerous proposition for the Springboks, should he gain Test selection.

"Gone are the days now, when I think I can take on the world every time I get the ball. That's not going to be the case," Williams added. "Sometimes in games I am marked by two players. That's fine, it just means I have got to tweak my game slightly to create space for others, which is what I am trying to do."

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