'I think George almost fell out of love with the game for some time and that's why he didn't play well
Shane Williams has backed George North to chase down his international try-scoring record after rediscovering his love of rugby and earning his 100th Wales cap.
North, 28, will bring up his century of appearances when Wales face England in Cardiff on Saturday, having missed the win over Scotland last time out due to a foot injury.
He will become the youngest player in Test rugby to reach the milestone, beating Australia’s Michael Hooper by 28 days.
The achievement comes only a few months after the Ospreys wing was dropped by Wayne Pivac amid questions over his form, and Wales great Williams believes North “fell out of love” with rugby for a period.
However, North – playing at outside centre, as he will on Saturday – shone as Wales opened their Guinness Six Nations campaign with a victory over Ireland and, after making a swift recovery from the issue that kept him out at Murrayfield, is now set to become only the sixth Welsh centurion.
“It’s huge,” Williams, who won 87 Wales caps, told the PA news agency of the achievement. “To be a regular in that Welsh team from a young age, he’s been an integral part of Wales and the success they’ve had over the years and it’s good to see him playing with confidence again.
“I think George almost fell out of love with the game for some time and that’s why he didn’t play well.
“He took his try really well against Ireland and he was heavily involved in the other try and he just generally had a good game in a position that he doesn’t play week in, week out. So that says George North is getting back to his best, which is great.
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“There are a lot of years left in George, I’m sure. He will surpass the 100 and keep on going.
“He’s a great player and he took a bit of stick as well, so for him to bounce back like that shows the measure of the man and the player as well. It’s great for him.”
Williams was on the opposite wing when North made his Wales debut in a 29-25 defeat by reigning world champions South Africa in 2010.
North scored two tries in that match and his performance out wide may have come as a surprise to Williams given his first impression of the 18-year-old Scarlets prospect.
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Williams said: “The first time I saw him in training, I hadn’t even seen him play for the Scarlets to be honest with you. I had no idea who he was. I thought he was a second-rower or a back-rower!
“He walked in full of confidence, but straight away I knew that he was pretty special.
“He played that game against South Africa, scored the two tries and you knew then that this boy was going to go on to far bigger and better things.
“I knew he was a special player back then, but for any player to get 100 caps, you’ve got to be doing something right.
“He’s taken a bit of criticism but he’s come back and it probably wasn’t two or three months ago people were asking why George North was in the Welsh team, saying he hadn’t really played well. But look what he’s doing now.
“It’s great to see that he’s become this player and he’s still young enough to be a better player again. I have no doubt that he’ll continue playing for Wales and he’ll continue smashing the records.”
One of the records in North’s sights will be Williams’ Wales try marker, which stands at 58.
“If there’s anyone who’s going to do it, it’s going to be George,” said Williams of North, who currently sits second on 42.
“He’s still very young, he could potentially play for four or five years.
“Hopefully wanting to beat my record and be the top try-scorer for Wales will keep him hungry and keep him fit and he’ll have the desire there right to the end.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if he goes on to do that.”
:: Shane Williams is one of Premier Sports’ leading commentators for its live coverage of Guinness PRO14 games throughout the season and works alongside an experienced Premier Sports talent team in Wales including Ross Harries, Sean Holley, Tom Shanklin, Philippa Tuttiett, Eddie Butler, Wyn Gruffydd and Lauren Jenkins. Premier Sports covers every PRO14 game live. To watch just visit www.premiersports.com.
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Dagg is still trying to get enough headlines to make himself relevant enough to get a job. The Crusaders went back to square one at all levels. Shelve this season and nail the next one.
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1 Go to commentsAfter their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
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1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
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1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
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3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
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6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
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3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
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37 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
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3 Go to comments