The 50 Greatest Rugby Union Players of All Time The 50 Greatest Rugby Union Players of All Time

25. SHANE WILLIAMS

Wing, Wales 2000-13

In 2002, Shane Williams nearly quit rugby entirely when, following a series of hamstring injuries, he found himself facing a tough time as Wales' third-choice scrum-half. As much as he would later become known for his quick feet, small stature and a huge number of test tries, Williams was also known for his competitive edge and refusal to quit.

Although Shane Williams is one of the first names people turn to in order to argue against the increasing size and weight of players in the modern game, it's unfair to remember him simply as someone who was great despite his size. The Welsh Wizard was arguably one of the most inspirational players ever to grace this great game. Every kid who was deemed 'too small to play' went straight down the park after seeing Shane Williams pulling on the Welsh jersey.

Everyone remembers his side-stepping magic and a change of pace that left defenders looking as dumbfounded as Wile E. Coyote, but it's easy to forget just how hard Shane Williams worked in order to be able to hold his own physically on the international stage. Having burst on to the scene in exciting fashion, he spent two years in the test wilderness amid concerns over his size.

Williams was awarded his first cap as a replacement against France in the 2000 Six Nations Championship, three weeks short of his 23rd birthday and weighing a little over eleven stone. He scored in his first full start for Wales with a try against Italy in the same tournament. But this wasn't to last. He was unable to hold down a place in the Wales team and it was effectively a false start for Williams' career.

He was taken to the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia, but as a third-choice scrum-half. After Wales made a stuttering start to their campaign, recording unimpressive victories against Tonga and Italy, who proved more difficult opponents than the bookies had made out, they had unconvincingly qualified to the knockout stages. Wales were second in their group with only the tournament favourites, the All Blacks, to play. Wales (and future New Zealand) coach Steve Hansen made some interesting line-up changes, deciding to rest ten first-team players who had failed to impress in the earlier games. Wales were expected to lose heavily, and it could be argued that Hansen was protecting these players from humiliation or trying to motivate them by letting them know their place wasn't guaranteed - or even simply trying to prevent injuries against a physically dominant New Zealand side. Whatever Hansen's reasons, it was here that Shane Williams played his first game for Wales in a World Cup, out on the right wing.

The game wasn't quite the one-sided contest that was predicted. Despite the Kiwis taking an early lead, the young and inexperienced Wales team took the game to their intimidating opposition, rarely making mistakes, completing phase after phase and matching the All Blacks in an unexpectedly open game. Lining up against Joe Rokocoko and Doug Howlett, one winger in particular stood out. Sparking a comeback from 28-10 down after half an hour gone, Shane Williams bolted through the centre of the New Zealand pack, setting up a wonderful try with Wales' best rugby of the tournament. And not long after half-time Williams scored the try that took the score to 28-34, the commentator shouting, 'Give it to Williams, he's the man!' New Zealand were sparked into life and although the game finished a misleading 53-37, the resurgent Welsh had shown that the Kiwis were far from indestructible - and Shane Williams had shown himself on the big stage.

Wales were revitalised, and although they were to lose in the quarter-finals to eventual winners England, this kick-started the career of their most potent try scorer of the modern era. Having grabbed his chance at the 2003 World Cup, Williams quickly cemented his position as the first-choice winger, working on his physique and emerging as the greatest Welsh player of his generation.

From there, Williams helped Wales end their 27-year grand slam drought in the Six Nations, where as well as scoring tries against Italy and Scotland, he scored the crucial try in their opening game against the heavily favoured world champions England, securing a famous 11-9 victory. He was then selected for the British & Irish Lions for their 2005 New Zealand tour, where he equalled a single-game Lions record by scoring five tries in a warm-up match against Manawatu.

But the most successful era for Shane Williams was yet to come. In 2008 Williams helped Wales to yet another Six Nations grand slam victory, ending the tournament as top try scorer and being named player of the tournament. Further recognition came when, that same year, Williams became the first Welshman to be named IRB Player of the Year. Unsurprisingly, Williams was named in the British & Irish Lions squad for the 2009 tour to South Africa. Williams somehow missed out on a starting place in the first two tests as England's Ugo Monye and Ireland's Luke Fitzgerald were selected ahead of him in two narrow defeats for the Lions. With the tour already lost, Williams was selected to play in the final test, where he produced a man-of-the-match performance and scored two tries in the series' only victory over the Springboks.

With Wales losing out to Fiji and never making it out of the group stages of the 2007 World Cup, 2011 was Shane Williams' last chance to shine on the world stage. After losing by only one point to defending champions South Africa in their opening game, Wales romped past Ireland to reach the semi-final, losing 8-9 to France in a hard-fought contest in which many had Wales down as the better side.

Williams was heartbroken, and after stating in interviews that he felt Wales should have won the World Cup, he announced his intention to retire from playing for his country. His final game would be against Australia in December 2011. It was only fitting that he scored a try with the very last touch of his international career, in added time, as the game finished 24-18 to Australia.

Retirement sat about as well with Williams as being told he was too small in the first place, and during the 2013 Lions tour of Australia, where Williams was a commentator, he was invited to play one final game against the ACT Brumbies.

All of the impressive records and statistics that support Williams' claim as one of the greatest players of the game cannot tell the full story. It was the manner in which he played and the era in which he played that truly define the player. Guinness created a whole advertising campaign on his retirement, centred around the fact that Williams was once thought 'too small to play' but was redeemed by the 'strength of his heart'. That is testament to the impact that he had on the game, not just as an inspirational figure but as one of the greatest entertainers rugby has ever seen.

Every fan loves a player who can beat a man with a neat side-step, a winger who can spot a line that nobody else can, one who can change direction with one step and a change of pace that leaves defenders at a standing start. Williams did all of this. Replaced by giant man-mountains George North and Alex Cuthbert - surprisingly agile as they may be - Williams was perhaps the last of a dying breed.

24. RICHARD HILL

Flanker, England 1997-2008

How many times must Richard Hill be called an 'unsung hero' before it is accepted that he is one of the highest-rated players of all time? Perhaps it's the fact that his tally of 71 caps - by no means a small number - still feels like it doesn't do justice to such a dominant player, especially when it's well known that it was injury that stopped him from playing at the highest level for even longer, and not lack of form.

An exceptionally well-rounded player with many aspects to his game, he was often referred to as the 'strong, silent type'. Hill is the only player never to have been dropped during Sir Clive Woodward's England reign. With his prolific work in the rucks and mauls, he suited the style of play that made England such a force. Simply put, Hill was the insurance policy within England's dominant team of the early 2000s, constantly plugging gaps, often first to make a tackle and pouncing on any opportunity to secure a loose ball - the perfect blindside flanker.

Neil Back, although a strong fans' favourite, had been in and out of the England set-up before Woodward's tenure, but the new coach shuffled the back row to suit the Leicester flanker, switching Hill to blindside and Lawrence Dallaglio to number eight. This was the cornerstone to Woodward's vision for a new England, one that would never let the opposition rest, one that forced attacking players into rucks, instantly reducing their threat - and, most crucially, one that forced errors and penalties from which a particularly accurate goal-kicker could create a platform and keep the points ticking over. It all sounded so simple, and the new combination worked as well in practice as it did on paper, Back's impressive speed and sharp reactions and Dallaglio's fierce attacking nature perfectly balanced with Hill's cool reliability and protection.

So well did they work together that it seemed this back row could communicate telepathically. Hill, Back and Dallaglio seemed to hunt like wild animals, bringing a whole new meaning to the term 'pack'. There seemed to be something instinctive in all three...