Rugby: Luck changes as cameo turns into much more

Sonny Bill Williams crashes the ball up last night against Bay of Plenty. Photo / Getty Images

The plan was to give Sonny Bill Williams a cameo taste of the provincial rugby in New Zealand.

That would have done Canterbury, the rugby convert and the national selectors just fine.

But they all got more, a great deal more as a wider examination of the 25-year-old's rugby credentials began.

While Williams wound through his debut, Canterbury saw off a determined Bay of Plenty with a victory that was messy in its initial construction and did not improve much.

Almost a year before the start of the Rugby World Cup, Williams got an extended 62 minute chance to feel the rhythm of the game at the next level as he opened his bid for inclusion in the All Black squad.

His first-class rugby debut had been on hold because of hamstring and knee problems, his rugby appearances restricted to half a game for the Belfast club and the same for the Canterbury B side.

That lack of fortune turned for him last night when Canterbury second five-eighths Ryan Crotty was hurt early, his left ankle damaged by a stray boot.

Williams had hardly sat on the pine wearing his wet-weather gear when he rose to warm up in his No 22 jersey as doubt continued about Crotty's endurance.

This was the man who has earned a pile of nicknames since his arrival from Toulon in a bid to earn a national rugby jersey.

Plain old SBW had morphed into So Bloody What, Ski Bunny Williams and Sometime Bench Warmer.

It took a while for him to touch the ball in what was a fractured half of rugby.

He threw a messy bounce pass after his first grab, was dumped on his backside from his second touch and then threw a forward pass with his third backflip possession.

He was a bit fidgety but no worse than his teammates who battled to the break with a solitary point advantage after impressive No 8 Nasi Manu claimed the only try when he scored from a tap and go penalty.

Canterbury should have done better.

They had scrum dominance through their All Black front row of Wyatt Crockett, Corey Flynn and Owen Franks but could not build any pressure because of their high error count.

The Bay might have scored after the break when Luke Braid was ankle-tapped, then Delany and Colin Bourke denied by great Canterbury defence and the TMO in the same movement.

It was a purple moment but sadly for the Bay, the only real heat they put on their hosts.

Williams thwarted them later with a desperate try-saving tackle on Lelia Masaga in the corner, showed some deft passing touches and gave pub patrons in Christchurch and nationwide talkback callers a topic to chew over.

Canterbury 28
Tries: N Manu, M Todd, R Fruean
Pens: S Brett (3)
Cons: Brett (2)

Bay of Plenty 9
Pens: M Delany (3)