Martyn to Step Down

Martyn Williams
By Andrew Collins
August 12 2005

The Blues first ever Captain, Martyn Williams has decided to relieve himself of duty for the forthcoming season. Williams, who was first made Cardiff captian in 2002, is unavailable for the opening month, and will be away with Wales a lot and has decided it's time to concentrate on his own game.

Martyn will turn 30 on Septemer 1st, and following another long season has decided not to put himself up for the captincy. Having been voted "RBS Player of the 6 Nations" this year, he then went on to play a full season with The Blues, and then played more matches than anyone else in Sir Clive Wayward, sorry Woodward's Lion's squad. On his announcement he said,

“As I will not be available for the Blues until October due to my commitments with the Lions this summer, I feel it’s in the club’s best interest for me not to offer myself up for the captaincy this season. It has been a huge honour to be the first captain of the Blues and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I would like to thank all the players and fans for the support I have received over the last three years. I would also like to wish the best of luck to whoever takes over the captaincy next season - they have my full support.”

Dai Young, who picked Martyn as his Captain will now be looking for his successor, but has said,

“I fully understand and respect the decision Martyn has made. There’s great morale in the squad at the Blues and we are totally united in focusing on what is best for the team. I think Martyn’s decision reflects this and it is a great credit to him that he wants to put the squad’s needs before his own. His decision this season will not rule him out from being the Captain of the Blues sometime in the future and I would like to thank him for his loyal service over the last three years.”

The Blues have said they will name the new cpatian later next week, which gives us all time to speculate!

ArmsPark.tk's Top 5 favourites:

Xavier Rush - Having captained the Auckland Blues for the last 5 years, he has a lot of experience and is a big time motivator, however, he knows very little about the club, players or competition, so he may be more appropriate as a vice captain or even captain next season.

Rhys Williams - He's been at Cardiff a long time, and knows the ins and outs of the players. He has captained the side on a few occasions before, most recently the Italian European Qualifier against Viadanna. However he will be away with Wales a fair bit this year, and is also at full back, he is not in the game much and may struggle to motivate.

Jamie Robinson - Has also been with cardiff for years and is at an age where he is shockingly one of the more senior players. He too has been Blues captain on a few occasions, but has the edge over Rhys in that at Centre he can call a lot. He has just penned a new long-term deal and would stand tall when the team seemed down and out. However, he may want to focus on his own game however having just recovered from long-term injury.

Nicky Robinson - He's still very young, but has the mentality to captain the side. He is very passionate and the kind of player who in one move can spur the team on, one small break is all it takes and he's off, it's that kind of player that may add a bit of life into a losing team. Alos, at outside half he is constantly involved in the game and can see everything to call.

Robert Sidoli - My personal favourite, he has been with cardiff a year now and has finally found his feet and seems happy. He is a huge motivator and very profesional. He is someone who owns his shirt week in week out and commands a place in the team. He's very similar to Martyn, a Valleys boy who is Mr. Consistant. He's come through a tough year in which he lost his Wales place following a long-term injury, but since facillities have been moved to the Vale of Glamorgan seems settled at the club, the captincy may be the final piece in the Sidoli jigsaw which would see him re-sign his contract come January.