Shane Williams, the toast of Wales after sealing an extraordinary come from behind victory against Scotland, has warned Six Nations leaders France: "I know I can play better again."
France arrive at the Millennium Stadium on Friday looking to complete the third leg of a grand slam with their hosts having just about recovered from one of the most astonishing fightbacks in Test history.
Wales, beaten in their tournament opener by England, were looking at a second straight defeat when Scotland led 24-14 with four minutes to go in Cardiff on February 13.
But Williams, against a tiring Scotland side that played the closing stages down to 13 men after two yellow cards, ran the visitors ragged as he set up tries for back three colleagues Lee Byrne and Leigh Halfpenny before rounding off a remarkable win after the clock had ticked past 80 minutes.
And now the Ospreys flyer is eager to keep that blistering form going against 'Les Bleus' as he contemplates what would be a landmark score in more ways than one.
Friday will see Williams celebrating his 33rd birthday and a try against France would mean he'd become the first player to score 50 tries for Wales.
And if he does add to his try tally on Friday, Williams will surpass scrum-half great Gareth Edwards's Wales record of 18 Championship tries.
"It would be a massive honour to beat that because Gareth Edwards is a true legend in Welsh and world rugby," said Williams, who standing at 5ft 6in (1.71 metres) has been the standard bearer for the belief there is still a place in the Test arena for the shorter player.
"To reach 50 tries would also be fantastic, but it is more important to try to get involved as much as possible and work hard - that's what gets you the tries," Williams said.
"I had the ball 33 times against Scotland, so it is heading in the right direction. Hopefully, against France, it will get up to higher levels again."
Not long after Wales had seen off Scotland, the French ended defending champions Ireland's hopes of back-to-back grand slams with an emphatic 33-10 victory in Paris.
"We've got to expect a very good French side," said Williams.
"They are playing with a lot of confidence, and their win against Ireland won't help our cause. We are going to have to rip into them."
.jpg)
