Shanklin made his debut in the
Six Nations Championship against
France in 2001; 32 years previously his father, Jim, had won his first international cap against the same opponents. At first Shanklin was regarded as a "super sub" in the Welsh side, but later established himself in the starting line-up. He produced some notable performances in the 2004 Autumn internationals, scoring eight tries in the four games. This included four tries against
Romania and a spectacular try against
New Zealand. He was sometimes played as a
wing, but started all the
2005 Six Nations matches in his preferred position at
centre. He was selected for the
2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand, but suffered a knee injury early in the tour which meant that he had to be replaced. As a result, he also missed the majority of the 2005–06 season. On 21 April 2009, Shanklin was named as a member of the
British & Irish Lions for the 2009 tour to South Africa. But on 7 May it was announced that he would miss the tour because he required reconstructive surgery on his shoulder that would keep him out for 16 weeks. Shanklin won 70 caps for Wales (56 starts and 14 appearances as a substitute). He scored 20 tries, placing him 5th-equal (with
Gerald Davies and
Gareth Edwards) on the list of record try-scorers for Wales. Following a fourth knee operation in February 2011, on 21 April Shanklin announced his immediate retirement from all forms of the game. == Media career ==