The man widely regarded as the best player ever to grace the game has backed a current great to break one of his long-standing records.
Former Lions scrum-half Gareth Edwards tops most peoples’ list of rugby legends following a stunning career that spanned 12 years and included 53 caps for Wales and a further 10 for the Lions.
For 32 years, Edwards has been Wales’ leading tryscorer in Four, Five and Six Nations history, but all that could be about to change this weekend.
A brace of scores in the stunning win over Scotland a fortnight ago saw 2005 and 2009 Lion Shane Williams draw level with Edwards on 18 championship tries.
And, as a passionate Welshman and a friend of Williams’ off the field, Edwards is hoping that his record will finally be broken when Wales take on France at the Millennium Stadium on Friday night.
"Shane is a world class player and I couldn’t think of a better person to achieve the feat – I’ll be delighted,” said Edwards, who toured with the Lions in 1968, 1971 and 1974.
"Records are there to be broken and it’s not an issue for me.
"Shane has been a consistent and proven performer for Wales over the last 10 years. I just hope he continues to score tries.
"When you play for Wales, you don’t think about scoring tries and it’s only something you look back on when you retire.
"In my day, Gerald Davies and myself did enjoy a bit of rivalry on who had scored the most but it’s not the most important thing – winning Test matches is.
"But I really hope Shane scores against France and we win the match."
