Rugby: Williams displays his quality

Sonny Bill Williams. Photo / Getty Images

After spending the past few months obsessing about Sonny Bill Williams' provincial destination, his knee, his on-piste activities and even his mode of transport to an advertising shoot, we now have some idea what all the fuss was about.

The man is shaping as an offensive juggernaut.

Those who will forever remain cynical about Williams will be reaching for the envelope marked "It's only third-tier rugby".

There's not a lot the controversial convert can do about that until October 30 at the earliest, but a few more performances like the one he delivered during Canterbury's 27-23 win over Northland should sway the swinging voters.

He was close to impossible to stop, laying on the final pass for all three Canterbury tries and there would have been a fourth if the referee had not spotted an earlier infringement in the first half.

His midfield combination with Robbie Fruean is taking on leviathan proportions at a combined weight of 212kg (incidentally, while Williams' form over 1.75 games has been compelling, Fruean's has been equally spectacular since week two and must warrant a look ahead of selection for the northern tour).

Those two combined for the first, with Williams offloading in contact and Fruean's speed and swerve too much for the breached defence. Williams provided a neat reverse flick pass for Luke Romano's try and made a big burst to lay on one for Isaac Ross.

All this happened before the teams turned and you could only wonder what lay in store in the second half.

Whether it was the gruelling week in Christchurch, or impressive Northland resolve, some of the fizz went out of Canterbury's breakdown work and the backs rarely had a chance to shine. In fact, the Taniwha came perilously close to stealing it at the death.

If they had, perhaps there would be noises made that Williams could have done more to inject himself into the second 40. More might be made about the fact he lacks an innate feeling for the game and that can lead to some schoolboy positional errors.

If you're really uncharitable, you could also point out that to be a top-drawer midfielder, he needs to be better at seeing space, rather than seeking contact and offloading.

What he lacks in game sense, however, he makes up for in sublime ball skills and supreme athletic ability.

Put aside the hype and the next couple of months could be a lot of fun.