Williams eyes double delight

SHANE WILLIAMS has identified demanding twin targets in what is set to be his final year of Test rugby — the RBS 6 Nations title and a successful World Cup campaign.

Williams plans to retire from the international game in October, having graced it like few other players during rugby’s professional era. The 33-year-old’s intended Six Nations swansong begins against England at the Millennium Stadium tonight.

And he has kept that appointment after defying the medics by recovering from a dislocated shoulder three weeks ahead of schedule to face England three weeks before his 34th birthday.

“For me, to know this is my last Six Nations is tough to take,” said Williams, Wales’ record try scorer with 51 Test touchdowns.

“I don’t want to finish playing rugby, I don’t want to finish playing for Wales, but I have got to be realistic. It probably means a little bit more to me knowing there are only two home games for Wales in this Six Nations as well. I put myself under a lot of pressure every time I play, but perhaps a little bit more this time”.

Wales could require the Ospreys wing to weave his magic once more tonight as they target a first win since last season’s Six Nations, having suffered six defeats and drawn with Fiji.

He lines up in a reshaped back division that sees James Hook at full-back, Morgan Stoddart on the other wing and fit-again Jamie Roberts forging a midfield partnership with Jonathan Davies.

If Wales can secure enough quality possession, the attacking options are rich and varied, and Williams does not intend holding back.

“I’ve had a couple of the boys chuck me around with judo throws to make sure the shoulder is fine. I’ve done the extras to make sure everything is going to be fine. I am old enough to know that things happen on the pitch, but I am 100% confident I can go out on Friday, give 100% and not be worried about any shoulder niggles.”

A far bigger worry could come in the form of England’s menacing back-three — Ben Foden, Chris Ashton and Mark Cueto — as an attacking unit that has rightly earned rave reviews during recent months.

“Foden probably runs the ball more than he kicks it, he loves taking on players,” Williams added.

“Cueto, I’ve played alongside and against. I thought he had a great autumn series. He made a lot of yards with ball in hand, he’s a clever footballer.

“Ashton has scored some nice tries and what’s good about him is that he is a player who goes looking for work. He’s not one of those who stays on the wing and just hopes to score tries.”

Meanwhile Mike Tindall has warned Warren Gatland England are ready to make Wales pay for his verbal attack on Dylan Hartley. Gatland deliberately lit the fuse ahead of tonight’s showdown by branding Hartley a choker and questioning his temperament. It was a brazen attempt by Gatland to provoke the fiery Northampton captain into doing something stupid tonight.

But Tindall vowed England’s tight-knit squad would stand up for their man by taking an “all for one, one for all” mentality into the game.

Tindall believes that collective spirit is one of the key factors behind England’s improvements over the last year. Martin Johnson’s men go into the Six Nations as the highest ranked team in Europe and favourites to lift their first title since 2003.

“Everyone gets on, everyone bonds together really well. It sounds a small thing but it makes a massive difference,” Tindall said.

“That translates to people fighting that bit harder for the guy next to them. In those pressure situations it makes a difference.

“If we turn up there and play our game we believe we can win. That is the challenge for us.”