Keep it simple SBW is message from Blues

The irony won’t be missed by Lions coach Warren Gatland that the Blues are sending their midfield into action at Eden Park with the clearest message: Run hard and straight.

The Blues want to see Sonny Bill Williams — passed fit to play after his knee came through yesterday’s training with no ill effects — in particular keep his game decidedly simple — hammer hard on to the ball, look for a weak shoulder to attack and take his side over the gainline.

Although he comes with a reputation for having all sorts of bells and whistles, Williams is most devastating when he simplifies things.

He damages defences when he commits defenders to him, wins the collision and then judiciously uses his offload game.

It has been a battle at times for him to learn the art of not overplaying his creative hand and being physical first, fancy second.

There were signs, however, in his last game against the Chiefs, that he was getting back to his best — that he was hitting the ball harder, playing a more direct route-one game.

There was a bit of intensity about the way he played in that local derby — his energy and confidence were obviously high and his ability to impose himself was climbing back towards the heights he reached at the World Cup in 2015.

It’s not only the Blues that want that from him, it’s what the All Blacks are after, too. And while Blues coach Tana Umaga will be the main beneficiary of a classic Williams performance at Eden Park, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen will be pretty happy about it as well if it comes.

Happy because go-to midfielder Ryan Crotty is under an injury cloud after he damaged his ribs playing for the Crusaders against the Highlanders. He could be touch and go for the first test and while Williams was probably always pencilled in to wear 12 for the All Blacks, he may have to do so now as the senior statesman in the midfield.

The onus will sit more heavily on Williams at Eden Park to show that he’s ready to be the man to straighten the line, to crunch into the Lions and drive his side over the gainline.

What the Blues and All Blacks are after is a maturity to his performance. They don’t want him throwing high risk offloads — they want him to impose himself, dominate his midfield opponents physically and then pick his times to play others into space.

“Sonny has come through really well,” said Blues assistant coach Al Rogers. “When he cooled down last night he was feeling good and he looked very fresh this morning.

“I think the key thing for Sonny is that he comes with a certain skillset and attributes and we want to see that as long as it sticks within the patterns we are trying to play and the things we are trying to achieve.

“We want to see the simple things but the simple things done well.”

When Williams runs hard and straight, the rest of his game flows and he makes it all so easy for his midfield partner to enjoy life.

That’s something the Lions will have to be wary of as George Moala, who will be at centre for the Blues, is one of the most bruising straight line runners in Super Rugby and if he’s played into space by Williams, he’ll be hard to contain.

There’s also an All Blacks interest in that, too. If Crotty isn’t passed fit, a Williams-Moala combination could be tempting to pick for the first test.