KEY POINTS:
Sending Ali Williams home so publicly was cruel - and I think the Blues have to look very carefully at themselves over this whole business.
I was no bowl of peaches during my career and I know too that there are strict protocols in place in professional rugby teams these days - and fair enough too.
You shouldn't compare eras but, in the pre-professional days, this kind of thing was sorted out by the senior players in the "back of the bus"
They were the leadership group and misbehavers were told in no uncertain fashion. Behave yourself or you're for the high jump. Most did.
It was all handled in-house not, as in this case, sending Williams home into a public media scramble.
I think it is a black mark against the Blues team to have played this out publicly. Fair enough, the players have been involved but it has ended up with a player being sent home who could have helped them win the Super 14.
Look, Ali Williams doesn't play lock for the Blues and the All Blacks because he is a rocket scientist or a diplomat. He's a top rugby player.
His job is to help the team win. Okay, he has to bear some responsibility for what has happened, obviously, but last time I looked the Blues weren't a Good Behaviour and Public Relations Society - they are a rugby team. If they can't make Ali Williams do the business, that's down to them.
David Nucifora should have played him. And Keven Mealamu and Joe Rokocoko. They're All Blacks, for Pete's sake. They are not All Blacks because they can't play. They are all matchwinners.
So why play Tony Woodcock and not them? Doesn't add up. We all know Williams is a bit different - so play the guy. Get the best out of him on the field so he does not have too much time sitting on his hands, looking for mischief to get into.
Rokocoko, we also know about. He takes a while to get into his stride after a lay-off. So play him. Okay, he might have been nowhere near best form when they did play him. But play him again - even if it's just for 20-30m.
Get him working up to his best. A game here, a game there and he might be sparking for the semi- or the final.
He won't win the game for you carrying the gear bags or the water bottles.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the Williams thing, his main function is to play. The main function of team management is to help him play his best.
Think back to when Norm Hewitt had all that trouble in Queenstown and was remorseful and broke down on Holmes.
He didn't get dropped. The public shame was enough - and Williams has been shamed but doesn't appear to have done much other than have too much to drink and being obnoxious.
I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that he won't stay in Auckland. He might go overseas but he could also look at Wellington or Christchurch.
I'd say Christchurch would be the perfect place for him. He'd be managed right and he would be a great replacement for Chris Jack.
