List of international rugby union tries by Shane Williams
Shane Williams is a Welsh rugby union player who appeared 87 times for the Wales national team from 2000 to 2011.[1] Playing exclusively as a wing for Wales,[1] Williams scored 58 tries, the most for any Wales international and 18 more than second-placed Gareth Thomas.[2] Williams also made four appearances for the British and Irish Lions, three as a wing and one as a centre.[3] In those appearances, Williams scored two tries, both during the Lions' victory over South Africa on the 2009 tour (a match in which Williams was on the wing).[3] At his retirement, Williams' 60 international tries placed him third on the worldwide all-time list, trailing Daisuke Ohata of Japan and David Campese of Australia; he now stands fourth, with South Africa's Bryan Habana having surpassed Williams and equalled Campese for second.[4]
Williams made his international debut on 5 February 2000 against France in the opening round of the 2000 Six Nations Championship at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. His first try for Wales came in the next round of the Six Nations against Italy, also at Millennium Stadium.[5] Williams would go on to score tries in the 2003, 2007 and 2011 editions of the World Cup. His final try for Wales came literally at the end of his international career, as he scored on the final play of his last Test on 3 December 2011 against Australia at Millennium Stadium.[6]
His final try was his 28th at Millennium Stadium, surpassing Rory Underwood of England, with 27 at Twickenham, for the most tries scored by a player from one of the "Tier 1" nations at a single ground. Among players from all nations, Williams is level with Ohata, who scored 28 tries at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium in Tokyo.[7]
Williams boasts many other important try records, both for Wales and internationally. His 30 tries away from his home country (including those at neutral sites) were the most for any player in history at the time of his retirement,[7] though that record has since been broken by Habana.[8] He leads Wales in tries at home (30), away (21), on neutral ground (7), and in the Rugby World Cup (10).[7] Williams was most prolific against Italy, Japan and Scotland, scoring 9 tries against each team; he retired with the record for most tries by an opposing player against each of these nations.[7] He also retired with the most tries by any European player against both Australia (6) and South Africa (5). All of his tries against the Springboks were on South African soil, which at the time of his retirement tied him with New Zealanders Christian Cullen and Joe Rokocoko for the most overall.[7] Finally, his 6 tries against Argentina left him level with France's Serge Blanco and Émile Ntamack for the most by a European player.[7]
Williams has scored multiple tries in a single international on 14 occasions, including two hat-tricks. The first of these was a four-try effort against Japan at Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Stadium in Osaka during a 2001 Wales tour.[9] The second was against Argentina at Vélez Sársfield in Buenos Aires during Wales' 2004 tour.[10] Williams scored tries against 15 countries, including all of the "Tier 1" nations.[5]
Key
- Won denotes that the match was won by the side Williams was playing for.
- Lost denotes that the match was lost by the side Williams was playing for.
- Draw denotes that the match was drawn.
- Tries 47 and 48 were scored while playing for the British and Irish Lions.
International tries
References
- 1 2 SFMS Limited. "Statsguru / Player analysis / Shane Williams / Test matches (primary team: Wales)". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- ↑ SFMS Limited. "Statsguru / Test matches / Player records (primary team: Wales, ordered by: total tries scored, descending order)". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- 1 2 SFMS Limited. "Statsguru / Player analysis / Shane Williams / Test matches (primary team: British and Irish Lions)". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ↑ SFMS Limited. "Statsguru / Test matches / Player records (ordered by total tries scored)". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- 1 2 SFMS Limited. "Statsguru / Player analysis / Shane Williams / Test matches (match by match list)". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- ↑ Pope, Bruce (3 December 2011). "Wales 18-24 Australia". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Richards, Huw (5 June 2012). "The little winger who left a big impression". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- ↑ "Statsguru, Player Records: tries scored away or at neutral venue (ordered by total tries scored)". ESPN (UK). Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ↑ SFMS Limited. "Match details: Japan–Wales, Osaka, 10 June 2001". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- ↑ SFMS Limited. "Match details: Argentina–Wales, Buenos Aires, 19 June 2004". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 15 August 2012.