Rugby: New boot to protect Ali's Achilles heel

Ali Williams trains with the All Blacks during their stopover in Hong Kong last month. Photo / Getty Images

Hong Kong to Herzogenaurach, Ali Williams has done the hard yards to keep his All Blacks rugby revival on track.

Back in Auckland now, but apparently close to announcing a temporary deal with a northern hemisphere club to continue his rehabilitation, the 61-test second rower has racked up the air miles to remind Graham Henry how keen he is to reclaim his position in 2011 after being plagued by a serious Achilles tendon injury for 18 months.

Williams was put through his paces with the team's fitness trainers before the Hong Kong Bledisloe Cup test on October 30; a week later he was wise cracking around the All Black hotel in London - a stopover before he got down to serious business with the team's apparel manufacturer.

The 29-year-old still has his foot in the door with Henry and his fellow selectors and specially made boots and shoes should make a return to international play even more comfortable.

Henry said Williams, who played his last test against England at Twickenham in 2008, had visited the adidas headquarters in Germany where designers have tailored footwear to support and protect the Achilles that has ruptured twice - in 2009 and again during the Super 14 pre-season earlier this year.

Although Williams did fitness drills under the watchful eye of trainers Nick Gill and Pete Gallagher in Hong Kong, Henry said he was primarily in Europe on business.

"He went to adidas in Germany to get his footwear sorted," the head coach said after the All Blakcks arrived in the Irish capital from Edinburgh.

"With a major Achilles problem around the heel, he needed to make sure the footwear he was going to wear playing the game and his training gear was 100 per cent. His footwear is pretty critical."

Williams is expected to confirm he will join a European club on a short-term basis in a bid to log some valuable game time before training with the Blues.

Henry was reluctant to speculate on where Williams might make guest appearances: "What he does in the future I am sure will be announced through the appropriate channels," he said.

But he was happier to discuss Williams' possible return in World Cup year.

"We are delighted with where he is at, but he just needs that confidence to push to that next level," Henry said.

"He's very pleased with where he's at but as you can appreciate he's done his Achilles tendon twice so there will be a bit of apprehension there."

Henry, meanwhile, might also feel a little apprehensive if Williams follows Daniel Carter's example and embarks on a sabbatical with French club Perpignan.

The All Blacks first five-eighth headed to the south of France after the 2008 Grand Slam tour but only played five games before succumbing to injury - a partially ruptured Achilles.

- NZPA