Rugby: Stellar career nears final whistle

Ali Williams. Photo / Brett Phibbs.

Williams will see out Toulon season but says his body is telling him it’s time to go.

The long and often colourful career of Ali Williams is nearing the final whistle.

The 33-year-old, 77-test former All Blacks lock called time yesterday in Toulon, where he is in the second season of his contract.

From the moment, as a brash 20-year-old, he cleaned out the taller and more seasoned Mark Cooksley in a 2001 Auckland-Waikato NPC match at Eden Park, Williams often produced compelling, athletic rugby, and a decade-long All Blacks career, which ended in 2012, was just reward. His crosskick for Doug Howlett to score in a 2005 Bledisloe Cup match at Eden Park was a prime example of his audacious approach.

The apex of his career was surely the 2005 home series against the British and Irish Lions. He scored a try in the first test and ruled the airwaves.

He suffered adversity, with two Achilles tendon tears ruling him out of much of 2009 and 2010, but he forced his way back into the All Blacks in 2011 after a tremendous season for the semifinal-bound Blues. He was essentially the No 3 second-rower in the Rugby World Cup-winning campaign. Only Ian Jones has played more All Blacks tests at lock.

Williams bowed out as the Blues captain in 2013 after being unable to recapture the rarefied heights of his early career, and signed for Toulon.

"I cannot train all week and then I can't be at my best in every game," Williams told a press conference in Toulon. Like his fellow departing Kiwi-Toulonnais Carl Hayman, Williams will, however, see out the season with the club, aiming to repeat the Top 14-European Cup double.

"I just feel internally that it's right, that my head is in a good place to walk away from the game," Williams told Radio Sport. "I also feel that my body is saying, 'No more please'.

"My knees are no good, and shoulders, and I don't want to be 60, 70 or 50, 40, and not be able to walk around and play with my daughter in the back yard. It's getting to that stage now.

"I'm just grateful for the opportunities I've had in New Zealand, the people I have met, the fun I have had, and then now here in France. The club said they wouldn't mind me going around again but I'll give it a miss," said a philosophical Williams.

"Carl [Hayman] told me that I look horrific so it was time to give it up, but we've given it up together. Most people at 34 are starting to settle down and get into a new chapter of their life.

"I'm excited at the challenge. I think sometimes guys stay on for too long and they lose that excitement."

Williams often reserved his best rugby, like many before him such as Frank Bunce, for the All Blacks.

"I loved playing in the black jersey. I've kept most of them. You can't really explain what it means. I hope I gave it my best every time I went out there and people saw that.

"If you enjoy what you do, you never work a day in your life.

"I feel that when I was at my best, I was up there competing with the world's best.

"The position is changing now. Look at Brodie Retallick. That guy is a freak," he said.

The notion that Toulon is a retirement home for once great rugby players is given more oxygen, following on the heels of Jonny Wilkinson and Danie Rossouw's exits last season. Williams' locking partner Bakkies Botha will soldier on, having ended his international career.

Williams will face Ulster tomorrow morning (NZT) at the mythical home ground of Stade Mayol, a short punt from the waters of the Mediterranean. Toulon need only win the match to qualify for the European Champions Cup playoffs.

Ali Williams

Full name: Alexander James Williams.
Born: April 30, 1981
Position: Lock
Tests: 77 (2002-12)
Franchises: Blues 2002-07, '09-13, Crusaders 2008
Other teams: Ponsonby, Auckland (2001-12), Toulon (2013-15)
Honours: NPC titles 2002, '05; Super Rugby 2003, '08; Rugby World Cup 2011; French Top 14 2013-14; Heineken Cup 2013-14