Legend Shane gets call-up for pundit’s dream team
SHANE Williams is among four Welshmen named in a leading pundit’s Six Nations dream team of the century.
The former World Player of the Year has been selected in the team chosen by Andy Nicol, the ex-Scotland scrum-half who now provides expert analysis for the BBC.
Amman Valley hero Williams, Wales’s all-time record try scorer, is named in a back three which also features Stuart Hogg at fullback and George North on the other wing.
Nicol’s side is dominated by Welsh and Irish players, with four from each country getting the nod.
Nicol then chooses three Englishmen, two French, a Scot and an Italian.
“Shane contrasts sharply with my other winger, George North, but they both share an incredible instinct for scoring tries,” Nicol told the Six Nations website.
“Shane is a small guy but he made the most of what he had and became the Championship’s best winger for a while – and maybe Wales’s best ever. “What a player.
“It’s amazing to think George is still only 28. He’s been around for a decade and that’s a great testament to how much of an impact he made as a teenager. He really hit the ground running and has managed to maintain a great try record. He’s got more years ahead of him, and a lot more tries.”
Nicol, capped 23 times as scrum-half by Scotland, named his ultimate line-up as part of a special feature celebrating 20 years of the Six Nations.
His other Welsh players are scrum-half Rob Howley and prop Gethin Jenkins.
ANDY Nicol’s Six Nations XV: Stuart Hogg (Scotland); Shane Williams ( Wales), Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland), Yannick Jauzion (France), George North ( Wales); Johnny Wilkinson (England), Rob Howley ( Wales); Gethin Jenkins ( Wales) Keith Wood (Ireland) Tadhg Furlong (Ireland); Martin Johnson (England), Paul O’Connell (Ireland); Richard Hill (England), Thierry Dusautoir (France), Sergio Parisse (Italy).