Awesome Ali's brilliant rebirth

All Black lock Ali Williams has just pilfered the Lions throw and has his sights set on the line at Jade Stadium on Saturday. Picture / Mark Mitchell

This was a rugby renaissance New Zealand demanded, the All Blacks craved and none more so than Ali Williams wanted.

It was on the lock's broadening shoulders that the All Blacks built the platform to shunt the Lions out of the first test at Christchurch.

Williams has just turned 24, a pup in international locking terms but his elevation to the All Blacks in 2002 meant he carried the expectation of a nation weaned on stories about tough guy locks.

Sometimes he delivered, at other times Williams went walkabout and was superseded by Keith Robinson, Norm Maxwell, Brad Thorn and Simon Maling.

With that quartet removed from contention this season, the All Blacks needed Williams more than ever. In an overzealous moment he trampled Richie McCaw and was banned for the bulk of the Super 12.

But he returned, the All Black selectors were convinced his mix of athleticism and power complemented Chris Jack and in the polar conditions on Saturday, Williams delivered.

"Ali was on fire eh," an awed Jack said.

"He played bloody awesome, what do you reckon man? He played friggin' awesome."

It was a concise accurate summary, something the Lions lineout was not.

Their set-piece shambles resembled the despair the All Blacks suffered with their lineout disintegrations in 2000-01. From the first Shane Byrne throw, which McCaw nobbled, the Lions lineout struggled and Williams took advantage.

He collared five lineout steals, his team-mates collected another five as the Lions succumbed to the pressure to which they were supposed to be immune.

It was a set-piece reversal from which the Lions could not recover, they had neither the agile speed in the pack, enough backline creativity or tactical kicking acumen to win a game of catchup.

As Sir Clive Woodward had to accept - and did so with some grace - set-piece disruptions could only mean defeat against a side of the All Blacks' quality.

"We were beaten fair and square. The better team won," he added.

His forwards coach Andy Robinson conceded the lineout deficiencies spread like a cancer through his side.

"At times we got our communication wrong and did not get players in the air and on further occasions, Williams read the movements well and got himself in the air," he said.

It was Williams' presence in the first half, his lineout pilfering which set the tone, galvanised his side and sat the Lions on their ample rumps.

Hooker Keven Mealamu, who was involved in major controversies during the match with Brian O'Driscoll and Danny Grewcock, said he had rarely been as weary after a game.

The All Blacks pack had played superbly in Paris last year and on Saturday had gone well if not quite so accurately as they had in France. But there had been massive pride that they had not conceded a try.

They had also worked ultra-hard on their defensive lineouts against a very physical foe. More than physical? an inquirer asked again.

"It was physical," Mealamu smiled.

The secret had been going from one scrum to one lineout, not looking further ahead than the next set-piece.

Williams rated his work up there with his best in the All Blacks jersey but he was not about to sort through his recollections. His task was to repeat his form this Saturday in Wellington, to build on the "passion and organisation" which were the keys to lineout defence.

His motivation had been personal. He was in his 22nd test while he also recalled opponent Ben Kay smirking in Wellington two years ago that England had just beaten the All Blacks in successive tests.

"That was in the back of my mind," Williams said.

The Lions had tried to goad him but they were not in the same class as Justin Harrison.

"But the little man in my head said let's not get carried away and do something stupid," Williams added.

His senior lineout partner Jack said the All Blacks had not cracked any code but had worked extra hard on applying pressure. A great deal of comment had been made about the lack of impact from the All Blacks tight five in recent years. Some former All Black greats had a point and Jack accepted the pack had not been as dominant as it should have been.

Coaches Graham Henry and Steve Hansen lauded the pack and the quality of their work in atrocious conditions. The weather made constructive use of possession extraordinarily difficult, said Henry, but the All Blacks' skill levels in contrast to the Lions, overcame that.