The colourful career of ‘Comical Ali’
The ex-All Black lock at the centre of a cocaine bust in Paris once admitted to being a binge drinker in the early stages of his career.
Ali Williams was arrested in Paris on Saturday afternoon (NZ Time) for allegedly trying to buy cocaine with former Wallabies star James O’Connor.
Williams, 35, has been a colourful character since his professional rugby debut in 2001.
In 2002, the 21-year-old Williams mixed Viagra tablets into the beer his Auckland team-mates and coaches were drinking from the National Provincial Championship trophy.
Known in his early days as Comical Ali, he delighted in playing the class clown.
By his admission, Williams was a binge drinker as a younger man.
‘‘If a big drinker was someone drinking day to day to day, then no, I wasn’t one,’’ he told the NZ Herald in 2013. ’’But if you are asking whether I was a binge drinker when I sat down and drank, then the answer is yes.’’
Williams said in 2013 that rugby had changed and he did not drink to the same extent.
‘‘You just can’t do it any more - especially not at my age. Now it comes down to - do you want to be a social animal and have fun, or do you want to be a professional rugby player?
‘‘That is the cold hard truth, and I just don’t think you can do both. As a team, people don’t apply peer pressure as much. It is your call to go down what avenue you want to do down.’’
Williams told the Herald that he did not drink after the All Blacks’ 2007 Rugby World Cup defeat to France because he was ‘‘so emotionally fragile’’.
‘‘For me, the biggest learning is what is your emotional level going into a drink? If you are in an angry, frustrated, pissed-off mood when you drink, things can go wrong. But if you are relaxed, enjoying the buzz, it can be a lot different.’’
While Williams developed into one of the greatest locks in All Blacks history, forging memorable partnerships with Chris Jack and Brad Thorn, he has courted controversy in his career.
In 2005, he was banned for six weeks for stomping Crusaders captain Richie McCaw, his close friend and business partner.
In 2007, he had a big bust-up with the Blues’ Australian coach David Nucifora, who sent Williams home from South Africa before a Super 14 semi final after a disciplinary breach understood to involve late night drinking.
Williams quit the Blues for a season, joining the Crusaders where he won the 2008 Super Rugby title. He turned up to a press conference in a Spiderman suit before the Crusaders’ clash with the Blues.
While in Christchurch, he intervened in a late-night street fight, trying to break up a central city brawl between youths. Footage of Williams racing in to pull the assailants apart was screened on national television.
Williams later returned to the Blues and eventually became their captain and showed great determination and fortitude to overcome two Achilles tendon injuries and a knee problem.
The lofty second rower helped the All Blacks win the 2011 Rugby World Cup and played the last of his 77 tests in 2012.
Williams joined the foreign legion at French club Toulon in 2013 before retiring in 2015. Paris club Racing 92 hired Williams as an off-field advisor. His role included serving as the media minder to All Blacks team-mate Dan Carter.
Williams served as an expert television commentator for the recent Scotland-France Six Nations game in Paris and was criticised by New Zealand rugbybaiting Sunday Times correspondent Stephen Jones, who tweeted:
‘‘Must be a massive shortage of ex-internationals available to BBC,’’ Jones said. ‘‘Why would Ali Williams be an option to bash the ears of innocent viewers?’’
Williams responded to his own 58,800 Twitter followers by saying: ‘‘Let him do his thing, he has to sell papers. I just try and live with a smile on my face.’’