By Andrew Collins
January 9 2007

Rhys Shellard has began a war of words that is sure to continue to the pitch with Leicester Tigers flanker Lewis Moody.

Shellard, who scored twice in the Blues 35-15 win over The Borders on Saturday, has publicly stated that Moody is not as good as Martyn Williams.

Its a claim that in all honest has weight, and in many opinions, truth to it. However, if you're going to anger a man like Moody, you'd better have the rugby balls to back it up!

His slightly tounge-in-cheek comment to the BBC were;

"Lewis is one of the best number sevens in the world. He's probably second in Europe behind Martyn, so just playing against him is great."

Martyn Williams misses the match as he serves the last game of his suspension for a headbutt on Ospreys scrum half, Jason Spice.

Shellard also gets his chance with the hugely talented Robin Sowden-Taylor also out, the Welshman recovering from a broken and dislocated ankle.

Shellard has been called on for the first time this season, after impressing at club level. He admits he's found the step up hard, but last week showed he is learning fast,

"It's been hard for me to step up, the Magners League is 10 times faster than the Welsh Premiership. But I'm lucky to be in with a quality group of players and I'm taking my chance with Martyn and Robin out."

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Meanwhile, another of the injured player, Rob Sidoli, has received bad news reguarding his fitness. The lock, who has been in impressive form all season, now looks out for a further fortnight, meaning his chances of making Wales 6 Nations opener look all but over.

Dai Young said,

"Sid hasn't done any contact work or training with the team, and not having our long-term injuries back before January is not ideal because we have no games in February. I don't think he'll be back before the end of January."