No one needs a reminder of the exalted status of the All Blacks in the world game but there was one yesterday when Robbie Henshaw, the Irish centre gunning for a place in the Lions Test team, confessed that Sonny Bill Williams, who is gunning for a place in the All Blacks Test team, was something of a hero of his when he growing up.
“I was a big fan of his when I was a kid,” Henshaw said, “whether it was performing in league or for the All Blacks. I suppose to be coming up against him is pretty surreal.”
We will see today whether it is a case of master and apprentice because Williams and Henshaw will both be wearing No 12 when the Lions take on their first Super Rugby opposition, the Blues, at Eden Park.
Henshaw, like every Lion here, has to grab the very limited opportunity afforded him to stake a claim to be in the Test team. Williams is in a similar situation. He may be uber-famous and have two World Cup-winners’ medals, yet he is not, right now, the dead-cert superstar that many had presumed that he would become.
The timing of the Lions game is perfect for him because, after watching the match tonight, Steve Hansen, the All Blacks coach, will select his squad for the Test series tomorrow.
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Williams is likely to be named but his fitness has been so patchy that he has given Hansen very little form on which to assess him. There are a number of centres who have accumulated a far better body of work than Williams this season. If Hansen does pick him, it is an acknowledgment of the past rather than the present. Of course, a good game for Williams today could quickly settle the debate.
It is hardly his fault that he has been unable to impress. After the last World Cup, when the two long-standing All Blacks centres Conrad Smith and Ma’a Nonu retired, it seemed that Williams would finally inherit the No 12 jersey. However, being an insatiable collector of different world titles, he took last year off in order to pursue his calling in the Rio Olympic sevens.
That was a disaster, not only for the Kiwis, who were beaten by Japan on the opening day, but particularly for Williams, who left midway through that game with a ruptured achilles tendon.
The injury delayed his return to Super Rugby this year but, even when he did play, a knee problem hampered the comeback. When Hansen assesses his midfield combinations to take on the Lions, he will consider all this. Williams is 31 and there will come a time when Hansen stops returning to him but opts instead for any of the numerous newer models eagerly awaiting their turn.
Williams is one issue to be settled when Hansen names his squad, but there is much interest in various other wounded All Blacks stars. Kieran Read (broken thumb), Jerome Kaino (knee surgery) and Dane Coles (concussion) are all first-choice selections who have been out of action. Coles, who is the best ball-playing hooker in the world but has not played since March, is the most likely to miss out.
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More recently, there have been injuries to Ryan Crotty (rib cartilage) and Ben Smith (two concussions this season). Brodie Retallick, the lock, is also out of action having shown signs of concussion.
However, it would be no surprise if all of the above were named tomorrow. Either way, this is far from ideal for the All Blacks.
Why does Blues star wear different logo?
Sonny Bill Williams has the logo of a children’s charity, Plunket, on his Blues shirt, right, rather than that of the bank BNZ, left. Williams is a Muslim and objected to wearing the bank’s logo on religious grounds.
● Listen to the British & Irish Lions v Blues on talkSPORT (Kick off 8.35am BST)
