Later, proving that he was serious in his bid for a black jersey, he signed to play Super Rugby with the heavyweight Christchurch-based Crusaders and provincial rugby with Canterbury, ignoring the pull of family to stay in or around Auckland.
His provincial debut, though, is starting to become a bit of an unknown in New Zealand.
At the time of his signing with Canterbury, it was expected that he might only miss the opening game of the ITM Cup, NZ’s National Provincial Championship, but with four weeks of the comp now done, he still appears no closer.
Just last week, Canterbury backs coach Tabai Matson told anxious reporters, “When he’s in the mix I’ll tell ya. [Williams’ debut will] be during the season some time. I’m not helping you, but I can’t, because I don’t know.”
And it’s not just the coaches who don’t know either; I’ve delayed writing this column three times now due to Williams’ non-appearance on the Canterbury team sheet!
But here’s where the Sonny Bill Williams story gets interesting on this side of the ditch, too.
With his 2008 NRL walkout still fresh in their minds, most Australian media carried news of his mooted and eventual return from France, his NZRU medicals, and ultimately, the news that he had decided to chase an All Black berth for next year’s Rugby World Cup. Williams has had a frequent media presence ever since, as he gets closer to playing again.
Or not, even, as it turns out.
His one and only appearance so far, about fifty minutes for Christchurch club Belfast on August 6, was covered fairly extensively by most Australian sports and rugby websites, and indeed, RugbyHeaven and ABC Grandstand are still carrying photos of his Belfast outing at the time of writing.
With the Christchurch Bledisloe Cup fixture on the same night, the Fairfax press even sent “Chief Rugby Correspondent” Greg Growden along to the Belfast game.
Growden, as well as making comment on how Williams played, would extol in the Sun Herald the value for money in paying a donation to the local primary school to secure a sideline seat, “with the added extra of a free sausage sandwich.” It was big news all round.
It was around this time that I first started thinking about this phenomenon, about how the Sydney sports media can’t seem to get enough of Sonny Bill, despite the nature of their coverage when he fled rugby league (where we saw the oh-so-clever tags, ‘Money-Bill Williams’, and ‘$BW’ applied).
If Sonny Bill Williams is still of so much interest as his All Black quest takes only tentative steps, what’s it going to be like next year when he starts playing for the Crusaders in the Super 15 competition, regardless of whether it’s against Australian sides or not?
It gets even more fascinating when you consider that the Nine Network, the current and long-term NRL broadcaster, takes on the broadcast rights to rugby in Australia from next year too, including a new one-hour weekly Super 15 highlights show.
Nine’s main NRL scout, gossip man Danny Weidler, can barely last a week without some form of Sonny Bill update, be it for his Sun Herald column, or in one of his only just news ‘exclusives’ for Nine News.
Poor Danny won’t know what to do with himself when Sonny Bill actually starts playing down this way again.
So given that Sonny Bill Williams is still big news these days, whether he’s playing or not, and given that Channel Nine still have an obvious affinity with him, is it too big an assumption that Sonny Bill might play a fairly large role in their rugby coverage next year?
I can’t believe I’m going to suggest this, but it seems to me that Sonny Bill Willliams, a Kiwi playing rugby in New Zealand and chasing an All Black jumper, could be a key factor in increasing the presence of rugby on free-to-air television in Australia.
If Nine and the Sydney rugby league media maintain their love affair with Williams, interest in rugby in this country can only go one way.
And if the weekly highlights show proves to be a winner, as punters tune in to get their weekly Sonny Bill fix, is it then too big a stretch to suggest that Nine could do worse than increasing the free-to-air footprint of rugby, maybe even to the point of replays, or even delayed coverage of Australian Super 15 games?
No doubt, changes to the anti-syphoning laws around the use of digital multi-channels will help this cause too, although after Saturday night’s election cliffhanger, those changes are probably no closer to being resolved.
It seems a funny fit, that Sonny Bill Williams equals increased free-to-air rugby interest in Australia, but it’s a fit that I can see being the case, and one that I believe the ARU would be mad not to exploit.
If in eighteen months time the most recognisable rugby player to kids in Australia is actually an All Black who plays for the Crusaders, who cares?
At the end of the day, rugby needs something to jolt it back into the mainstream in this country, and if it means hooking onto the Sonny Bill bandwagon, then I say fit him with a towbar.
This is my 50th piece for The Roar since my promotion into the red column just over twelve months ago. My humble and sincere thanks to all who have commented and critiqued, agreed and disagreed in that time. I appreciate the feedback and support just the same.
Sylvester
Guest
I've seen a pic of Sonny Bill in said cardigan - he wears it well...
Brett McKay
Guest
thanks for the link Sylvester, though I'm not sure which is the bigger crime, skiiing while injured or "wearing a knitted reindeer cardigan"?? :eek:
Sylvester
Guest
Naughty, naughty Sonny! www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/provincial/4062026/Injured-Sonny-Bills-skiing-trip-irks-Canterbury-bosses/
hutch
Roar Guru
and your point is? the poster said to come and talk to him when rugby league can attract crowds of 50k in england and i was informing him that it reguarly does and the largest rugby crowd of the year in the uk is a rugby league crowd. leeds rugby union also draw a crowd comparible to harlequins rl if you are interested in that kind of stuff.
rugbyguy
Roar Pro
sorry i just assumed it was an exhibition sport, Great for us [NZ] as it almost garentees we get at least one medal.
zhenry
Guest
Wrong spelling its Jeff Rubin
zhenry
Guest
Interesting. I don’t think the peak oil issue is a favorite on this site, regardless, well known Canadian economist Jeff Rueben is predicting over $200 a barrel oil by end of 2012. Not sure how well the networks swot up on peak oil. $1B could be difficult to achieve!
Winston
Guest
yeah GT is the man
Matt
Guest
The season prior it was Folau's aerials for the Storm.
Brett McKay
Guest
RG, 7's is not just a trial sport , it's been added as a full-blown Olympic sport, and will debut in Rio in 2016. This also mean it's eligible for Olympic funding and almost certainly cements the future of the sevens game..
rugbyguy
Roar Pro
Olympic rugby now that would be great, NZ needs all the medals we can get!, I beleive 7's is on the olympic agenda as a trial sport or something, its already in the commonwealth games and its great! its the only time Gordan titcheins gets any sort of priority when it comes to selection, and he deserves it the amount of All blacks to come through his hands is rediculous, and every year he has to start again with a fresh crop of schoolboys, somehow he manages to win anyway, would be great to see olympic sevens, can garentee first choice if that were the case, Unfortunately actual rugby will never be an Olympic sport, it would be a joke if they tried, two weeks is just not long enough to hold a rugby tournament.
Brett McKay
Guest
zhenry, theoretically, there might be some truth in these particular statements of Chris's, but it's all a bit hard to judge currently, as all the IC talk is just that. No doubt at all, the IC is crucial for the future admin of RL in Australia. Will the NRL get close to $1B for the next TV rights? Very hard to say, and I have to admit I have my doubts even whether the AFL will get that sort of money, though concede they have the best chance. For the NRL to get $1B, it would mean basically doubling the current rights value, and it's hard to see where such increased value comes from. Additionally, for the AFL to get close to its $1B, it's going to have to involve several networks as it does now, and so then the question would be whether those same networks want to spend that sort of money again the jack up the NRL price. Hence my doubts. To me, both cases are akin to the real estate agent telling you to list your half-million dollar house for $750K and hope someone will be silly enough to pay it. But as we know, sellers and buyers view the same things vastly differently in terms of value. So, assuming that the NRL does get its magic figure, then perhaps there is a risk that some young rugby players, particularly those with RL backgrounds, will be tempted should the rivers of league money start flowing. What young professional sportsman wouldn't be? I suspect the guys who have only ever played rugby will probably stay put, but there's a definite risk that some players will switch to league..
Brett McKay
Guest
cheers guys...
Intotouch
Guest
Wait until Danny Cipriani arrives! He is outrageously cute and talented. Even though he'd hardly ever played for England he was fantastic publicity for rugby union as half the country fancied him and every paper reported his actions on and off the pitch. He is a marketers dream. I know that it's a bit grim to be depending on a pretty face or a change of code player to help to popularise the sport but. . . if you've got the opportunity i think you should milk it.
rugbyguy
Roar Pro
First off Congrats on the 50! Tana Umaga played alongside and coached SBW for 2 seasons in France and he is convinced that SBW is good enough to make the All Blacks, if anyone knows what it takes to be a great All Black centre then Tana does, if any one has the nerve to suggest they know better then they are obviously deluded. It was on Tanas recommendation that 'NZ teams began falling over each other to sign SBW as much as any other reason, If you are not from NZ then you probably cant comprehend the reverence and respect with which the public and rugby community hold Tana here, before the media got word of SBW considering an attempt to win an All Black spot Tana had discussed the possibility with All Black coach Graham Henry and on Tana's recommendation Henry was convinced that SBW was a potential All Black. That said SBW will have to prove himself every step of the way, Canterbury has a rugby infrastructure that is second to none, the club competition in Canterbury is on a scale and level most countries can only dream of, the university has its own competition which has numerous grades, players from around NZ and beyond gravitate to Christchurch to be a part of this and try to get noticed. But they are staunch about earning your spot, SBW's fame and reputation will count for nothing, if anything it will make things more difficult, the establishment will be determined not to appear to give special treatment to anyone, no matter how much they get bums on seats or what reputation they bring with them. You can bet your house that SBW's every move will be scrutinized by the Canterbury coaching staff but Canterbury will never pick him until he shows he is up to standard, And when he does get a chance at a higher level he better perform or he will be dropped pretty quick. SBW will be a very good union player, he's big, fast and skillful. He was an exceptional league player and lets face it the two codes are not that different. Will he be good enough? only time will tell, but he will have to prove himself every step of the way. Tana says he has the potential and that alone is enough to get him on the All Black coach's radar, but nothing but his performance on the field will get him the jersey. The All Blacks selectors may take his development into consideration and take him on the end of year tour even if he is not quite in the top few centers but he will have to impress at domestic level first. Before he can do that he'll need to make the Canterbury side and they wont cut him any slack.
rugbyfuture
Roar Guru
congrats on your 50th article brett. as for the article itself, i do agree that no matter what its on, right now, the media presenting rugby so frequently is a good thing. however i dont agree that noone would care if its an all black whos the most famous rugby player out there. heres hoping that post 2011 when the IRB 10 year plan cycle or whatever is redone, its done well, with lots of promise, so that by 2020 (whatever olympics that will be) rugby has the ability to stand on its own two feet and has so much popularity that all of the olympic comp is broadcast. i don't think he will make it greatly in new zealand, would have had a better chance in france/australia
JF
Guest
Yet the only London club in the Super League averages around 3000 at home games.
rugbyfuture
Roar Guru
channel nine bought the rights a while ago...
rugbyfuture
Roar Guru
you mustn't read or watch the news much then...
rugbyfuture
Roar Guru
we have an international body to fall back on, and future olympic support... as much as you're trying to say we pin our hopes on someone who hasnt proved themself, you seem to be pinning your hopes on a commission that hasnt started, hasnt been provena and may not reach expectations.