Shane Williams speaks after the Ospreys defeat to Biarritz at the Estadio Anoeta on Saturday afternoon.
Speaking to the press after a painful afternoon in San Sebastian, the Ospreys record try-scorer held his hand up and said he should have done better against USA international wing Takudzwa Ngwenya, who scored one length of the field try before setting up another for England full-back Iain Balshaw as Biarritz pipped the Ospreys by just a point.
He said:
“I have had my ups and downs but I am not going to dwell on that too much. He is a good player and is very quick. You can’t take that away from him. He has got to be one of the quickest about. He had a great World Cup, he was recognised then and has been playing well for Biarritz.
“We knew we would have to keep an eye on him. To be fair he took his chance well and had a good game. It was disappointing because we had a lack of numbers on the blindside and a poor attempt at a tackle by me. He handed me off. You can’t afford to give him an inch because he’s sharp and got to the line first.
“What was frustrating is he didn’t have much room to get outside me. But he’s a handful.”
As for the Balshaw try, Shane commented:
“I thought I had him isolated on the outside, but he put the kick in and it bounced straight into Iain Balshaw’s hands. We were aware of the likes of Balshaw and Ngwenya and we knew they had a rapid back three. But he scored a great try and had a hand in the second, so what can you do?
“We are really gutted that we have come this far, worked so hard to get there but are going home again with nothing. We had our chances. Conceding that early try didn’t help us but the way we came back; we ripped them to shreds.
“It’s the way it happens in Europe. You have got to take your chances. We scored some good tries and should have won the game but that’s no consolation.
“I thought we had them but it’s another loss. We had worked our guts out to get out of a very strong group and into this position. You don’t mind losing if you deserve it but this was different. That’s what’s so hard to take.”