Williams disappoints Tew, Read
New Zealand Rugby boss Steve Tew and All Blacks captain Kieran Read have described Ali Williams’ arrest and charge from a Paris drugs bust as ‘‘disappointing’’ for the All Blacks brand.
Williams is facing a court appearance after being apprehended outside a trendy Paris nightclub last weekend which saw him spend 40 hours in police cells.
All Blacks captain Read was asked about the unwanted development when he was fronting a launch of the Super Rugby jerseys to be worn against the British and Irish Lions on their coming tour of New Zealand.
Read said the incident was ‘‘a reminder if you’ve been an All Black there’s a brand or standard that needs to be kept’’.
‘‘The All Blacks always want to keep standards high, it’s important that you respect that. But if you make a mistake it’s out there. It’s disappointing,’’ Read said.
Read played alongside Williams in many All Blacks teams and shared the 2011 Rugby World Cup victory in New Zealand in 2011.
Read’s comment followed similar sentiments from All Blacks great Sir John Kirwan who believes Dan Carter and Williams have damaged the All Blacks brand by being caught up in controversies in France.
Carter has admitted drinkdriving in Paris with his poor judgment coming a week ahead of Williams’ arrest. Carter is also facing a Paris court appearance.
‘‘As an ex-all Black, yes it does do damage and I’m upset about it,’’ Kirwan, the legendary New Zealand wing, said when discussing the unwanted developments on SKY Sport’s weekly rugby show The Breakdown.
Tew echoed Read’s and Kirwan’s disappointment, but said NZR had not been in touch with the pair since they got on the wrong side of the law.
‘‘I think it’s very disappointing for both of them, disappointing for the club that they now play for and disappointing for rugby and for the All Blacks,’’ Tew said.
‘‘Ali and Dan were looked after like any other player would be while they were in our employment . . . but they left our employment some time ago and they’re grown men working in the world.
‘‘We expect very high standards of our players and our people when they’re here with us. There’s a certain legacy that you leave behind in the jersey and a certain responsibility you take away with it.
‘‘I think John Kirwan and Kieran Read are much better to talk about it that than I am because they have worn, and do wear the jersey, and sweat and bleed in it.’’
Both Carter and Williams, two high-profile, experienced former All Blacks and World Cup winners, were caught by police in the early hours of the morning on weekends neither were playing for their French clubs. The incidents have drawn global headlines, with the pair’s All Blacks connections highlighted in virtually every media report.
‘‘The reality is that we have had a couple of instances lately that are not great for our All Blacks brand,’’ Kirwan said.
‘‘Once an All Black, always an All Black and you carry that positively and negatively for the whole of your life. But it’s normally 99 per cent positive and one per cent negative.
‘‘So what are you doing out at 3am is not a positive ... nothing good happens at 3am. I just hope that it’s not as bad as it sounds,’’ he added of Williams’ circumstances.
Kirwan knows Williams well and described him as being ‘‘a bit loose at times’’. He coached Williams at the Blues and respected him enough to make him captain for the 2013 season, the lock’s last in New Zealand before heading to France.
Kirwan was concerned that ‘‘rugby is morphing’’ into football with its problems around massive salaries and glamorous lifestyles.
But he believed that should be irrelevant. ‘‘You’re an All Black for life, you are a citizen for life,’’ Kirwan said.
‘‘Nothing changes your mental makeup whether you are an All Black or whether you are making a million dollars a year. People’s personalities don’t change and you have to keep working on yourself as a person. That’s not going to change getting $750,000 playing in France, you’ve still got to be an idiot being out at 3am when you shouldn’t be.’’
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