KEY POINTS:
Partygoing lock Ali Williams has received an unprecedented condemnation from his Blues teammates - sent home in disgrace after breaching the team's social protocols in Perth.
Williams' latest violations surfaced only as the Blues were leaving Sydney for their Super 14 semifinal in Durban but on the flight to South Africa, senior players and staff decided the lock should be dismissed from the tour.
Blues chief executive Andy Dalton said Williams' "late-night activity" before and after the Blues' final pool match, against the Force in Perth, forced the ultimate censure.
He had been warned a number of times about his behaviour since he returned from his All Black reconditioning programme but had continued to flout team standards.
Williams' punishment meant he remained in Johannesburg as the Blues took a further flight on to Durban before he boarded a return flight to Auckland through Australia. During his unforeseen stopover, Williams spoke to his agent.
"Ali was very emotional and he was very hurt," David Jones told the Herald. "There is not much more to say until we all sit down and talk to him about this."
The All Black management are also keen to talk to Williams about his indiscretions which come on top of season-ending injuries to other World Cup locking contenders Jason Eaton and James Ryan.
"Graham [Henry] and I were very disappointed to hear about this because we have invested a lot of time and energy into Ali's development," All Black manager Darren Shand said.
New Zealand Rugby Union deputy chief executive Steve Tew said this morning that the NZRU anticipated getting involved in the Williams issue.
"We will get involved eventually."
The NZRU at this stage knew nothing more than what had been revealed by Dalton yesterday, Tew said in a Radio Sport interview.
With the Blues involved in an important match this weekend "we will talk to them when it is over".
He said NZRU's employment contract with Williams is "for a period of time delegated to the Blues but depending on how serious it (Williams' misdemeanours) is, we might want to take the matter further ourselves".
Until the NZRU spoke to the Blues and Williams to find out what had happened "we can't make a decision"
Williams has been in a petulant mood at the Blues as coach David Nucifora has started him twice but used him, sparingly, from the bench in four other games since his return to the Super 14.
"There is no questioning the talent of the guy," Dalton said. "We are not looking for clones but Ali has not understood the team dynamic. We are disappointed we had to do this but he has not changed his behaviour."
The level of Blues displeasure was evident yesterday in a lengthy press statement which described Williams' reintegration as "difficult" and spoke of his "continual defiance of team protocol".
Williams had been reprimanded several times for inappropriate behaviour and, on at least four occasions, he had been spoken to by Nucifora, manager Ant Strachan or the six senior players in the leadership group.
His misdemeanours covered an array of incidents including late night drinking, inattention to promotion and sponsorship commitments and a lack of respect towards his Blues teammates.
"In my experience, you cannot have ongoing player disruption such as this within a team - even more so when on tour," said Dalton. "Team protocols are put in place to ensure acceptable behaviour and commitment to your fellow teammates is adhered to - sadly this has not been the case."
Anthony Boric has flown out to join the side as replacement locking cover for the Blues semifinal on Sunday against the Sharks.
Nucifora voiced his worries last year about discipline within the franchise. A leadership training course was started to make players more accountable for their roles and Williams attended those sessions.
"This increased player accountability and leadership has been instrumental in the success of the squad this year - and while both the players and coaching staff have worked to address these issues with Ali - it finally had to come down to what is best for the whole team," Nucifora said.
The loss of Williams and the injured Luke McAlister have removed two of the more potent Blues players for their semifinal against the Sharks.
Sanzar officials have decided both semifinals will be controlled by Australian referees. Stu Dickinson will rule the Blues semi and Matt Goddard will referee the Crusaders' playoff match against the Bulls in Pretoria.
- additional reporting: NZPA
