Umaga, Rennie back SBW for ABs
SONNY Bill Williams is yet to convince everyone of his readiness to immediately return to the test arena but those who know him well are certain his impact against the British and Irish Lions will be profound.
Williams’ influence in the Blues draw with the Chiefs at Eden Park on Friday was again blighted by injury.
Tana Umaga pulled his star second five-eighth after 56 minutes as he struggled with a blow to his knee that leaves him doubtful for next Friday’s match against the shambolic Reds in Apia.
Given what’s ahead and the fact the Blues are out of the playoff race, it would not surprise if Umaga elects to start TJ Faiane at No 12 against the Reds and keep Williams on ice for the anticipated hit-out against the Lions in Auckland three days later; the tourists’ first outing against New Zealand Super Rugby teams.
Coming on the back of his late start due to a ruptured Achilles, a week out with concussion and now the latest injury set-back, Williams’ six-game return to the XV-man game has been a stopstart slow burn.
Most would agree we are yet to see his best but the All Blacks coaching team are a patient bunch.
Despite the frustrating nature of his run of injuries, there are signs Williams’ confidence is gradually growing.
Before being replaced against the Chiefs his direct presence regularly challenged and buckled the line, and one trademark offload caught the visitors napping.
‘‘Tonight we saw another step up,’’ Umaga said, confirming Jerome Kaino will not feature against the Reds.
‘‘It was disappointing he had to come off because he was getting into his work again.
‘‘He’s come back well and is really getting into the groove.
‘‘He’s adding so much at training in terms of standards and keeping people accountable. Hopefully his knee is not too bad.
‘‘We want to take the best side we can to Samoa because we want to promote our club over there and then we have to do the same three days later back here so we’ll have to make good decisions around that.’’
The reality is no matter what happens in the Blues’ two matches before the All Blacks squad is named on June 8, Wil- liams is certain to be selected.
But with Ryan Crotty in fine touch and Anton Lienert-Brown also starting to recapture last year’s form, Williams’ task of cracking the starting team straight away could be more difficult.
Over the next month - a period which ends on the day of the first test against the Lions - Williams also has the challenge of juggling Ramadan, the Muslim practice of fasting; refraining from consuming food and liquid from dawn until sunset each day.
This year Ramadan runs from May 26 to June 24.
Whether Williams starts or PHOTOSPORT comes off the bench against the Lions to provide the same priceless punch he offered during the 2015 World Cup, Chiefs coach Dave Rennie is another backing the 31-year-old to soon hit full stride.
Rennie’s opinion carries weight, having coached Williams to the Super Rigby title, the Chiefs’ first in 2012, when the cross-code convert was at the peak of his rugby powers outside Aaron Cruden.
‘‘There’s a handful of midfield options for the All Blacks.
‘‘I think they might have been interested in Charlie [Ngatai] being an option as well and that could still be but he would be reasonably underdone.
‘‘What you know with the All Blacks is they generally pick guys who have performed well for them in the past and guys they have a lot of confidence in.
‘‘I have no doubt they’ll back Sonny.
‘‘He missed a bit through concussion but you saw tonight he’s a real handful.
‘‘We had a plan to chop him and make sure we covered defenders inside and out because of his offload but he got one away that really got in behind us.
‘‘We adjusted all right after that but he’s still a real handful.’’