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21st Mar 2017

Shane Williams in danger of spoiling “sound” legacy with seriously biased Lions team

Get a grip lad

Patrick McCarry

Just as we were starting to really warm to the lad.

Shane Williams is an honorary Gael and will be for life.

His week with Glenswilly, in Donegal, for AIB GAA’s Toughest Trade documentary showed him to be extremely down to earth, welcoming to new challenges and experiences, fond of a pint and a song, and damn well handy at Gaelic football.

The former Wales and Lions winger took to GAA like a Kilkenny lad to hurling [or a duck to water] and impressed everyone who’s path he crossed in Ireland’s North West.

Williams seems like a decent skin. However, he’d want to get his head on straight with his Lions XV selection to start the First Test against New Zealand.

Seeming to ignore the fact that Wales lost three Six Nations games and finished fifth, and have a long losing streak against southern hemisphere’s big three, Williams opted for six Welshmen in his Lions team.

Ken Owens, Alun Wyn Jones, Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric are all in his pack to take it to the All Blacks while Rhys Webb and George North are in the backline. There are only five English players included, even though they won the championship, and only three from Ireland.

Spare a thought for Scotland too…

No room for the likes of Conor Murray, Maro Itoje, CJ Stander, Elliot Daly and Scotland’s booming Gray brothers.

Let’s hope Warren Gatland does not pick his Lions squad with similarly red-tinged glasses.

SHANE WILLIAMS’ LIONS XV

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