Sonny Bill in the All Blacks? Not just yet…
ByFirst of all, apologies for the recent lack of updates. My old laptop died on me a couple of weeks ago and I’ve only just got a replacement. Unfortunately I haven’t gotten around to restoring all my stats packages so I won’t be able to do an end of season analysis of the numbers from the Super 14.
Right, on to the topic at hand. Listening to Doug Golightly this morning where I heard the suggestion that should Sonny Bill Williams perform well for the Barbarians against the Wallabies, he should be brought into an Air New Zealand Cup team and fast tracked into the All Blacks for the end of year tour.
On the surface this might seem like a sensible suggestion but I remain unconvinced. I haven’t seen any of Sonny Bill’s games for Toulon since he changed codes, but he is a tremendously skilled player and could well be a star in the All Blacks, should he adapt.
But are we really crying out for another centre? Sure there are some short term injury worries right now with Richard Kahui out for six months and Conrad Smith struggling with a hamstring injury, but in the long term there are plenty of options in the mid field without taking a punt on an unproven league convert.
Even if Kahui and Smith are unable to make the Tri Nations squad, the solution is already presented by slotting the returning Luke MacAlister into 12 and moving Ma’a Nonu out to 13. Don’t forget there’s also Isea Toeava waiting in the wings too.
Some talkback callers also questioned Sonny Bill’s commitment, given the way he walked out on his Bulldogs’ contract. Personally I think walking out was a dumb move, but given the right environment, he could well mature mentally and emotionally to the point where he could easily slot into the All Blacks.
Perhaps Sonny Bill’s path to the All Blacks needs to go through Christchurch. If he is truly serious about playing for the All Blacks, then perhaps the NZRU should sign him to the Crusaders for the 2010 Super 14. Why the Crusaders? Firstly with the loss of Casey Laulala they are in need of a good centre, but the biggest reason is that the Crusaders’ culture places the team ahead of the individual, something I think Williams would benefit from.
I would love to see Sonny Bill in the All Blacks one day, perhaps even by the 2011 World Cup, but he doesn’t need to be fast tracked. He needs time to adapt to the new game and time to mature. Let him continue to play in Toulon but at the very least make him play the 2011 Super 15 season before bringing him up to the All Blacks. Centre is not a position where we need to fast track players, what we need are first fives like MacAlister and openside flankers to back up Richie McCaw. Now where’s Marty Holah’s number?
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The Sonny Bill in the All Blacks? Not just yet… by Hamish McBrearty, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
