Jones hails 'world-class' Williams
Mon, 24 Mar 2008 13:07
Little wizard: Shane Williams at his best
Ospreys captain Ryan Jones hailed the "world-class" wing Shane Williams after his team booked a place in this season's EDF Energy Cup Final.
Ospreys will meet defending champions Leicester Tigers in a replay of last year's EDF Final, when the two sides meet at Twickenham on April 12.
Williams scored two brilliant tries as Ospreys crushed semi-final opponents Saracens 30-3 at the Millennium Stadium at the weekend.
It followed his crucial score when Wales clinched the Grand Slam by beating France in Cardiff seven days ago.
Jones said: "Shane is world class. Shaun Edwards [Wales defence coach] calls him a predator, which is a perfect description.
"When Shane gets just half-a-chance, he jumps on it."
Jones, Williams and several of their fellow Grand Slam stars made a victorious Millennium Stadium return as the Ospreys booked their second successive EDF final appearance against English heavyweights Leicester.
But they had to work hard before subduing Saracens in a dress rehearsal for next month's Heineken Cup quarter-final clash between these teams at Vicarage Road.
Man-of-the-match Gavin Henson scored the game's critical try on 50 minutes, before replacement back row forward Filo Tiatia and Williams killed Saracens off.
Flyhalf James Hook added two penalties and two conversions, booking a Twickenham appointment with the Tigers on April 12 and an opportunity to avenge last season's 41-35 defeat.
Ospreys coach Lyn Jones said: "We wanted to gel the boys back in after the Six Nations campaign, and that was a success. We need to push on to the next step now. We lost to Leicester by the narrowest of margins last season, and we have grown from that."
Ryan Jones added: "You have very few opportunities to win silverware in your club colours, and we have really grown as a group of individuals.
"It was hugely disappointing to lose to Leicester 12 months ago. But we have come a long way through the experiences we've had, and I am extremely confident in this group of individuals."
Saracens rugby director Alan Gaffney had no complaints about the Ospreys' emphatic success, with his team restricted to a solitary Glen Jackson penalty.
Gaffney said: "We didn't need luck - we needed about five extra players on the pitch! They are a classy team, and we've not experienced such a hammering since I have been at Saracens.
"This will be a huge learning curve for us. Ospreys' pressure was very good, and it put us under the hammer.
"We have got to do a bit of homework, but we believe we can turn it around [in the Heineken Cup]. We wouldn't be in the competition otherwise."
Saracens scrumhalf Neil de Kock and lock Chris Jack both failed to last the distance, with Gaffney confirming former All Blacks star Jack had gone to hospital for an x-ray on his hand.
