British and Irish Lions: New Zealand will bring Sam Warburton pressure like never before, insists Shane Williams
The three-time Lion speaks exclusively to The Independent on what the Welshman should expect when he touches down
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Your support makes all the difference.From leading Wales in a World Cup semi-final to captaining a successful British and Irish Lions tour, Sam Warburton knows how to deal with pressure, but three-time tourist Shane Williams insists he hasn’t experienced anything yet.
Warren Gatland confirmed Warburton as his skipper for the second consecutive tour, something only Martin Johnson has ever done, despite Alun Wyn Jones replacing him prior to the Six Nations.
The Cardiff Blues flanker’s form both with and without the armband was up for question but since freeing himself of it, he has been back to his best form with the sort of energy-sapping performances which earned him the role in Australia four years ago.
Williams briefly served under Warburton’s captaincy for Wales before retiring after the 2011 World Cup and also made a cameo on the 2013 Lions tour as an emergency tourist for one of the midweek games ahead of the second Test.
He also has experience of a Lions tour in New Zealand, the disastrous 2005 whitewash, and insists that while Warburton is more equipped to handle pressure than most, he will not get a moment’s rest from the Kiwi public.
“Trust me, captaining Wales is definitely pressurised and living in Wales as well multiplies it by two for a captain but there’s still more pressure on him for this Lions tour,” Williams, who has two tries in four Lions Tests, told The Independent.
“It’s a tour that not many people outside of the UK would give the Lions much of a chance of winning but he believes they can, the team believe they can.
“He will still feel the pressure now but he will definitely feel it the second they touch down in New Zealand as that’s all he will have really, New Zealand and the All Blacks following him around with every person he speaks to – from the porters at the airport to the receptionist at the hotel. New Zealand don’t lack confidence and I think he definitely will feel the increased pressure straight away and I think he feels it already.
“But he’s got the experience and he knows how to win and I think for that reason he is the right man for the job.”
Warburton was not even considered a contender to retain the captaincy going into the Six Nations, with his Welsh successor Alun Wyn Jones, Dylan Hartley and Rory Best all considered ahead of him for the role.
But without the shackles of the Welsh armband, he switched flanks to blindside and was one of the, in Williams’ opinion, “stand-out players in the Six Nations”.
The freedom of the responsibilities that come with being captain allowed him to get back to his best but and despite suggestions that he could once again be restrained by being skipper, Williams insists it is the right time for him to assume responsibility again.
“Whether he lost it or gave it up, I think losing the Welsh captaincy was the right thing” Williams added. “Sam wanted to get fit, he wanted the pressure of being a captain taken off him, and it worked.
“His Six Nations performances were the best for some time. He felt it was the right time to get the Lions captaincy back – he did it successfully four years ago – Gatland trusts him, a lot of the players on this tour have been captained by him before and they follow him into a Lions tour.
“I think it’s the right decision and having been captained by him myself I think he is a very good captain, he deals with the press very well which will definitely be needed in New Zealand and he knows the pressure of captaining a winning side on a Lions tour. He’s the right option.”
Shane Williams is an Ambassador for British & Irish Lions Principal Partner Standard Life Investments
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