WALES’ RECORD TRY scorer Shane Williams was training with Glenswilly tonight at Pairc Naomh Columba.
Williams, who scored 58 international tries before retiring in 2012, was put through his paces – and was comfortable on the ball – along with the reigning county champions under the lights at Foxhall.
He will remain in the north-west and will be working in Michael Murphy Sports & Leisure in Letterkenny later in the week and will be back at Glenswilly where he will take in a challenge game in the club colours.
The retired rugby international has arrived in Donegal ready to swap the oval ball for the round ball for the latest installment of AIB’s documentary series ‘The Toughest Trade’ as part of its GAA Club sponsorship.
[adrotate group=”59″]Williams will join Donegal senior club champions Glenswilly for the duration of his trade, while clubman Michael Murphy will later travel to France to team up with top 14 side Clermont Auvergne.
Williams is fourth on the international list of leading rugby union test try scorers behind Daisuke Ohata, David Campese and Bryan Habana. He is Wales’ most capped winger.
An AIB press release stated:
Speaking about The Toughest Trade Williams commented, “I’ve been to Donegal before, and it’s a lovely part of Ireland, with lovely people, so coming back is great. I’ve never watched a full game of Gaelic football as such so I’m really coming into this completely new to the sport and I’m looking forward to it.
The chance to try something completely different now that I have the time to do it is exciting, and I want to take the challenge on and see how I do.”
But this is no holiday. Williams will face long, hard days in the northwest where this week temperatures are forecast to turn bitterly cold with the possibility of hail, sleet and snow.
He will be fully immersed into the life of an amateur GAA club player; both physically and mentally. Among his responsibilities will be enduring early morning gym sessions, holding down a job as well as punishing late night training sessions.
Everything Williams learns in Glenswilly will prepare him for the final test; a challenge game against a neighbouring club. With all eyes on him and a deep-rooted local rivalry to contend with, Williams will line out in the ultimate game of pride. There he must put his knowledge and skills of the game to the test, proving to both himself and his Glenswilly club mates that he’s up to the challenge.
Speaking about challenge ahead of him Williams commented, “I’m not coming in with any expectation that it will be easy, that’s for sure. I know that it’s a physical sport and a highly skilled one, so I expect that I’m in for a hard time, and that’s exciting too. I want the boys to make it as hard as possible for me, so I can know what I’m capable of.”
He continued, “I could naively say now that rugby is more physical, but be completely proved wrong, so I’ll be in a better position to answer that after I’ve finished the challenge. But I am expecting it to be physical.”
The series is the creation of long-time GAA and camogie club championship sponsors AIB, having produced the first episode of The Toughest Trade in 2015.
