ENGLAND v NEW ZEALAND:THE ALL Blacks do not normally need any help when it comes to beating England but they have been receiving insider advice this week. It has emerged that Jonny Wilkinson has been soothing the nerves of New Zealand's Sonny Bill Williams, who is set to make his union Test debut.
The news will hardly thrill Martin Johnson’s squad as they prepare for tomorrow’s game at Twickenham.
Williams, who switched codes from the Australian club Canterbury in 2008 to pursue a place at the 2011 World Cup, said yesterday he had met the injured England outhalf on Wednesday.
“He told me how much it meant to him, playing for his country, and how much he got out of it,” said Williams, who will start at outside centre tomorrow.
“I had a cup of coffee with Jonny and he warned me that you can’t get complacent. As soon as you start thinking you’re in the team or the squad and you’re going to get picked every time, you take your foot off the pedal.”
Wilkinson and Williams played together at Toulon last season. “Playing with Jonny in my second season at Toulon gave me the confidence to believe I could (play international rugby),” Williams said.
“That was the reason I wanted to go back home and try and prove to people and myself that I could play. I was fortunate enough to play alongside some greats, not least Jonny and Tana Umaga, who really helped my game. I had a lot of self-doubts when I first came to the code but I knew these guys had reached the top . . . playing alongside them made me feel I could give it a crack.”
Williams, who will partner Ma’a Nonu in an All Black side showing four changes from the XV which lost to Australia in Hong Kong last Saturday, has been earning rave reviews for Canterbury.
The All Blacks are determined to make England defence coach Mike Ford regret his assertion that the high-scoring matches seen in the Southern Hemisphere this year were not “proper” Test rugby.
“I don’t know whether it’s worth commenting on. I just find it ridiculous,” said coach, Graham Henry. “The three Southern Hemisphere teams, rightly or wrongly, are ranked one, two and three in the world, so I guess they can play a bit.”
Even as a teenager Williams caused good league judges to reach for the highest superlatives.
“Players like him come along once every 10 or 15 years, if that,” Frank Endacott, the former Kiwi league coach, said six years ago.
“It can be dangerous to say this about someone so young, but I can tell you he’s going to be something very special.”
Henry clearly thinks similarly to judge by the speed at which he has elevated his cross-code capture, a centre with power and pace.
“We wanted to see how he could handle Test match rugby and you don’t get much bigger than playing at Twickenham. It’s a huge Test for any player and it’s a good situation for him to prove himself in. He’s a good athlete and he’s quick, which puts pressure on defences around the fringes.
“We just wanted to see how he’d handle the situation and how other teams handle him.”
GuardianService
New Zealand XV
(v England, Twickenham, Saturday, 2.30pm.)
15 Mils Muliaina
14 Joe Rokocoko
13 Sonny Bill Williams
12 Ma’a Nonu
11 Hosea Gear
10 Daniel Carter
9 Alby Mathewson
1 Tony Woodcock
2 Keven Mealamu
3 Owen Franks
4 Brad Thorn
5 Sam Whitelock
6 Jerome Kaino
7 Richie McCaw (capt)
8 Kieran Read
Replacements: 16 - Hika Elliot, 17 - Ben Franks, 18 - Anthony Boric, 19 - Liam Messam, 20 - Andy Ellis, 21 - Stephen Donald, 22 - Isaia Toeava
