SBW follows Nonu’s path
Ryan Crotty has noticed it. Have you?
We are talking the development of the Sonny Bill Williams game to the point where the influential All Blacks midfielder is now becoming the proverbial triple threat whenever he has ball in hand. The kick, offload and run are now all in play.
Indeed he looks to be following a similar developmental curve to the man he has succeeded in the All Blacks No 12 jersey, the great Ma’a Nonu who these days is plugging away for Toulon in the French Top 14.
Nonu was a fabulous tacklebreaking power midfielder in his early days of test footy. Then he added a deadly passing game. No one threw the wide, flat, bullet pass quite like the dreadlocked one when it was on to shift it wide.
Finally Nonu became adept at the tactical kicking game to complete his repertoire, whether it was hoofs into space, or deft grubbers through for his support runners to charge on to.
There are signs abounding that Williams is well down the path to a similar transformation, and becoming a Nonu-like influential figure in the backline in the process.
In Sunday’s test at Murrayfield in Edinburgh, the code-swapping second five-eighths was instrumental in two of the three All Blacks tries: the first when his deft grubber put Damian Mckenzie in; and second when his brilliant offload to McKenzie carved the opening for Beauden Barrett’s sizzling first-phase strike.
It was the second straight week the All Blacks had scored a try directly off a Williams grubber kick.
The benefactor the week before in Paris, Williams’ midfield partner Crotty, has nothing but praise for his arsenal.
‘‘It just shows how hard Sonny works on his game,’’ said Crotty when asked about the Nonu comparisons. ‘‘I guess you’re alluding to the kicking game Sonny has brought the last two weeks. That’s something we spend a lot of time practising, and why, when I got a dot off one of his kicks, I was so excited.
‘‘To see that hard work come to fruition in a big moment, that’s one of the most satisfying things about rugby.’’
Williams, of course, seems to polarise the public. Some love his tremendous mix of athleticism, power and skill. But, as he willingly admits: ‘‘I know I’m not everyone’s cup of tea.’’
Adds Crotty: ‘‘ He just goes about his work and doesn’t let public opinion get in his way. He’s always been a diligent worker ... it would be nice to see some positive stuff come out because he has been working bloody hard, and it’s awesome to see.
‘‘I probably don’t understand well enough how the New Zealand public perceives him. But from what I know of him he’s a good friend, works blimmin’ hard, he’s a good team-mate, a good guy to play alongside and he’s a good man.’’ team-mate’s growing