Shane Williams says the spirit in the Lions camp is good

Shane Williams says the Lions are "quietly confident" of winning their Test series in South Africa.

The Wales wing, 32, and his new team-mates arrived in Johannesburg on Monday for their 10-match tour.

"There's not many teams come to South Africa and beat them on their own fields and we know that," he said.

"But we're quietly confident that we've got a good selection of players and coaches that can come over here and certainly do the job."

The Lions are back in South Africa for the first time in 12 years and are aiming to emulate that successful 1997 team, who were also under the charge of Ian McGeechan.

It is McGeechan's third Lions trip to face the Springboks, with his first coming as a player in 1974 - the legendary unbeaten tour.

"I think everyone back home has seen and has remembered the last tour to South Africa and what it meant to people back home," Williams, the IRB world player of the year, added.

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"So we're under pressure to begin with there anyway, but certainly we're looking forward to the challenge.

"South Africa rugby is one of the strongest in the world, they're the world champions - have got some of the best players in the world certainly - and it is a massive challenge and a massive ask.

"I don't like making promises but I can promise you that we've got a very good side that are all determined to have a very successful Lions tour."

The current crop play their first game against a Royal XV in Rustenburg on Saturday, with the highlight of the trip the three Test matches against the world champions in Durban (20 June), Pretoria (27 June) and Johannesburg (4 July).

"The atmosphere is very good... we've only been together a week now back in London," said Williams, a member of the unsuccessful Lions tour to New Zealand in 2005.

"We've trained very hard, the training has gone very well on the field and the boys have got on really well off the field.

"We've already started taking the 'mickey' out of each other and playing games on each other and there's a good feeling coming over here.

"We've got some very physical, large lads that are coming on this tour to compete up front and so on... so physically I think the boys are up for it.

"A lot of the guys have just recently come off cup finals, played in end-of-season league games and we'll hopefully not be too stiff and sore, and ready to go."

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