KEY POINTS:
Usually, Ali Williams does not do reserved well. But this week he is up against it.
He has wedged himself up against the wall in one of the conference areas of the All Blacks hotel, answering media questions for just the second time since his undignified early return from the Blues' Super 14 semifinal trip to South Africa.
He knows he is going to get the inquiries about what happened, what his future is with the Blues and their coach, David Nucifora.
He is as coy with his explanations and answers as he was the day he returned to Auckland. This time he points to the silver fern on his training kit and explains he is on All Black duty.
You also notice Williams is wearing a small microphone and a glance around the room locates Marc Weakley, who is wielding a camera in the direction of our group as part of his work for the All Blacks website.
Every word of this interview is being recorded. His caution is even more understandable. Time to try to crack the veneer, to bust out the Williams who regularly jousts with the press, but he is not budging.
This first test for the All Blacks, he intones, is all about getting back to the form they had on their last trip to Europe, it is about growing as players, developing. We are to hear a lot about players' growth in the next little while, it seems to be a safe term for the All Black lock to use.
After three months' conditioning with the All Blacks, Williams was irked with just two starts and four bit-part roles from the bench for the Blues before he and the team parted company. Since then Williams has added three club games for Ponsonby and picked up a bang on his knee as well. No sweat, there is no way he is missing his return to centrestage at Eden Park this Saturday.
"A lot of us have not played as much rugby as others so it is still about that growing phase to get to where we were. As a team we want to get better and show that we can get our self-confidence back as a unit and get things going like that," he said.
The big fella is ultra-cautious and asks what another journalist is trying to get at when he quizzes him about the frustrations he felt during his misfires with the Blues. That time is over, Williams declares, staring down from his 2.02m tower.
"That's been and gone and I've got to work towards this team and give my best here and grow as a person on and off the field. That was just one stage of my life and now I've got to move on, to be honest."
Did he see his future at the Blues? He replied that he was with the All Blacks.
"You can try and dig what you wanna dig but I'm gonna stay strong ... "
According to coach Graham Henry and sidekick Steve Hansen, Williams' attitude and preparation have been outstanding since the squad assembled. He had matured into a very important member of the group and the coaches expected nothing less.
"I love this team, I love the environment, I love the challenge and I also enjoy the pressure which comes with being in the team," Williams said.
"I think it brings the best out of me so I sort of do what I do, what comes naturally and I think we've got a great opportunity on the weekend ... "
Asked again, Williams accepted he had reined himself in a bit because that was the landscape he lived in at the moment, he was living in the real world instead of the ideal universe. He did not think his attitude had altered, it was in line with his obligations to the All Blacks and he was growing up.
"I think every incident you have to learn from, you have to grow from and for me it was tough but it was one of those things that happened. You can't go back, you have to move forward and at the moment I am with the All Blacks and I have got to give everything to this team and prove that I am worthy of being here and worthy of holding down the jersey."
Weakley is still hovering in the foyer and you wonder if that could be some faint applause from team shrink Gilbert Enoka hiding behind one of the pillars. Williams is bunting strongly, no breakdown in his technique.
A new approach is needed. Perhaps Williams tries hardest only when he is with the All Blacks, it is the only team that really matters to him?
"I don't think so at all. I play the game of rugby because I love it and I play it because I enjoy it regardless of what team I am playing for. I think playing for your country is so special and if you didn't respect that, why are you really here, to be honest? I give my guts every time I play, I'm surprised you ask that question."
