Rugby: Williams relieved his Achilles is holding up

Ali Williams has been testing his match fitness while playing for English club Nottingham. Photo / Getty Images

LONDON - He admits he is still at the bottom of the mountain and it's a long way up.

But there was no mistaking the sense of delight and relief on the face of All Black Ali Williams after he had wrapped up his brief sojourn in English rugby with Championship club Nottingham this week.

Williams came safely through his first 80 minutes on a rugby field for two years on Tuesday night after his protracted Achilles problems.

How did he feel? "It feels good but I feel tired," he admitted.

"It is good for the mental state knowing that I can last 80 minutes. But I am still at the bottom of the mountain and it is a long way up.

"Getting back into a black jersey is definitely the goal. But I have got the Blues next, and I go back to New Zealand next week for the game against the Hurricanes."

Does he believe he can climb all the way up to the top of the mountain? "The Blues is my first goal and if I am good enough [for them] then hopefully that puts me in the picture."

Williams explained the reasons behind his decision to spend several weeks in the comparative backwaters of English Championship rugby. "I felt that if I wanted to get back into rugby at a lower level and get rid of my mental baggage ... it would be better to do it ... somewhere else without all the TV cameras and that sort of rubbish.

"I talked to the All Blacks management staff, Graham Henry, Wayne Smith, etcetera and Glenn Delaney [Nottingham's director of rugby] had a big role back in New Zealand with his connections.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed it too; it blew my expectations out of the water ... Rugby in England is probably a lot better than people think."

Delaney has carefully nurtured Williams and restricted his playing time, for obvious reasons. He played 20 minutes of one match against Moseley, half of the game against Bristol and an hour of the game against Munster's second-string side.

"But I don't think he was too happy when I took him off against Munster," said Delaney.

"He reckoned he could have played another 10 minutes. That's a great attitude but he must be patient and not get ahead of himself.

"It shows the motivation is still there. However, he must harness it because I want to see him playing for New Zealand again too. When he arrived just before the New Year, no one was sure how things would go.

"But over the last three weeks, Ali has gone from not knowing whether he could play again to now knowing he can play.

"A lot of the doubt was in his head and you can understand that after the problems he's had.

"I said to him after the Moseley game that he is a rugby player and I wasn't interested in hearing anything about anything else. I don't think he has an Achilles problem now. He is a rugby player who will only get better.

"He showed his class in the Munster game. His athleticism in the lineouts was magnificent."

Williams showed some high-class skills in Nottingham's 37-8 demolition of Rotherham in this week's match.

He won five lineouts, claimed two soaring re-starts and stole the ball from a maul to set up Nottingham's fourth try of the night.

He also had a little disagreement with an opponent which showed that his spirit is intact. And he played much of the game with a smile on his face.

But neither Williams nor All Black fans should be fooled. After 57 minutes, he climbed back to his feet after one tackle with the weariness of a man who has been out of rugby for two years.

He hung off most of the rucks and mauls, wisely pacing himself.

The pace of his game was gentle in the extreme and he showed real commitment only on a few occasions. Clearly and properly, getting through the 80 minutes was his priority.

Williams is taking it one step at a time and a full match was an important marker post to reach along the road to full recovery.

Only when he steps up the training levels and starts to sprint flat out, can he know if the Achilles is truly healed.

As he says himself, he's still peering up at a mountain and at his age scaling it will never be an easy task.

* Peter Bills is a rugby writer for Independent News & Media.