The Grogg Blog: Super Shane Williams - Grogged to Perfection

Shane Mark Williams was born on the 26^th February 1977 in Morriston, Swansea. Told he was too small to play Rugby during his school days, Shane began playing football for Cwmamman United AFC, too small for rugby but ironically he played in goal for his football team!

Luckily for all fans of rugby the transition to “egg chasing” happened by pure chance. On the day of a cup final for his local football side Cwmamman United, Shane was asked by some friends to turn out for Amman United RFC, an offer which he gladly accepted. On his debut performance for this local side he ran in 5 tries, helping the side to win by 82 clear points.

Shane continued to play for Amman RFC as a junior, playing Scrum Half during his time there. He was then spotted by Regional Side Neath in 1998 where he was swiftly transferred to the club by then manager Lyn Jones. Brought in as the second choice Scrum Half it then became apparent that this guy couldn’t be left out of the side and in what could be considered a bit of a creative move, Shane was brought into the starting line up on the wing. The birth of the flying winger had begun!

Shane made over 80 appearances for Neath scoring a hugely impressive 223 points in the process, he remained in the region with the formation of the Ospreys where he continued to impress with 293 points in 141 appearances for this Welsh regional side. With the exception of his final season playing in Japan with the Mitsubishi Dynaboars, Shane spent his entire career in Wales, playing over 200 games over 14 years.

It wasn’t just on the domestic stage that Shane impressed but also on the International stage. Handed his debut for the Full Welsh side in 1999 by then Wales manger Graham Henry, Shane went on to win 87 caps over the years, scoring 290 points in the process and becoming the all time leading scorer for Wales, winning several Six Nations Grand Slams and winning the IRB Player of the Year accolade in 2008.

Shane also turned out for the British and Irish Lions during the tours of New Zealand in 2005, South Africa in 2009 and he was also part of the tour winning squad of 2013 in Australia.

In 2013, Shane hung his boots up for the last time, calling time on a glittering career. Anyone that has seen Shane play will recognise the extreme talent, pace, flair and all round mind blowing skill of this Welsh Legend.

It’s no surprise that given the popularity of Shane with the fans that he caught the attention of one Richard Hughes from the World of Groggs. It’s fair to say that Shane Williams is probably one of the most Grogged players ever. Since his first Grogg was produced circa 2005, the Groggshop have gone on to produce around 8 iterations of this fantastic player, including several minis, 9” pieces, action pieces, busts and even a place on the iconic Mount Groggmore.

As well as making several different moulds of Shane, there have also been a number of club kit and special versions of Shane produced in low numbers such as the Diolch Shane which proved extremely popular with collectors, selling out in record time!

For some players being Grogged is the ultimate accolade, but being Grogged the amount of times that Shane has is only testament to the ability that this brilliant servant of the game has shown and also a reflection of the genuinely likable character that he is. Worry not Grogg fans, this isn’t the last we will see of Shane in Grogg form, as we speak Richard is still working on the Shane Williams retirement piece.

Super Shane has certainly been Grogged to Perfection.