After helping the Ospreys to a convincing 21-point victory over the Cardiff Blues on Saturday night, Shane Williams paid tribute to the forward power that provided the foundation for a win that kept the region well and truly in the hunt for a home semi-final next month.
The winger admitted that the first half showing hadn’t been of the standard expected of the Ospreys, but was quick to point out that with the advantage in the scrum eventually going the team’s way, the pack gave a winning platform.
“We were quite poor at the start of the game” he told the media post-match.
“We lost the ball far too many times in the contact area and our discipline wasn’t very good. It seemed to be the same old, same old. We had a dressing down at half-time and went out second half and played better, kept the ball better.
“The scrum was amazing to be fair, going forward like that. How you can penalise a scrum going forward at a rate of knots I really don’t know. I can’t pretend that I know anything about scrums but I’m not sure the referee did tonight to be honest with you! It was a great performance by the forwards and it’s nice to see people like Adam Jones and Alun Wyn Jones, who you don’t associate with running to be fair to them, galloping over the line. It was a great effort.”
After an Ospreys win in this derby match, it’s another derby next weekend when the Dragons come to the Liberty Stadium for Shane’s farewell match. With 9,000 tickets for the game already snapped up, a bumper crowd and great atmosphere is already guaranteed as Ospreylians turn out to pay tribute to a true legend of the region.
Asked about the game on Friday night, Shane said that it’s going to be a week and a match to remember:
“It’s getting tougher and tougher, but I’ve had a great time. It’s going to be a great week leading up to it. I’ll have all my friends and family there, but I’m prepared this time. There’ll be no waterworks this week, I promise you, but it’s going to be a fantastic occasion and I just hope that we can get the supporters out there for a great send off.”
Tickets for Shane’s farewell match against Newport Gwent Dragons on Friday evening are on sale now at the Liberty Stadium Ticket Office, online at ospreysrugby.com/buytickets and via the Ticket Hotline on 0844 815 6665, with up to four kids going free with a paying adult while season-ticket holders can bring a mate for free.