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MARSEILLE - Ali Williams' jaw has well and truly healed but it seems the after-effects will follow him around France during the rugby World Cup.
It took Williams six weeks to recover from the injury suffered nearly three months ago when French bruiser Sebastien Chabal clanged into the All Blacks lock at Wellington.
The incident enhanced Chabal's popular reputation as a hard man and has been highlighted numerous times in French media in the leadup to the World Cup.
It has left Williams with a reputation he's keen to shake.
"People probably know me more now because I'm the broken jaw guy," Williams said.
"I'd rather be known as a great rugby player than the broken jaw guy.
"That's just one of those things I have to deal with and if people recognise me more for that, then so be it."
Williams hasn't played a test since but suffered no physical or mental scarring when he returned to action with Auckland in the Air New Zealand Cup.
It didn't take long to put back the 9kg he lost during a 1-1/2 months of sipping soup through a straw.
"If you want to lose weight I'd suggest it (his diet)."
A philosophical Williams said the period away from the game crystalised his attitude towards rugby.
He said it was easy to lose touch with reality when immersed in the game every week and the recovery period offered him a chance to step back.
"It did a lot of things, inside me," he said of his recovery period.
"The respect I've got for the black jersey, the respect I've got for life and the respect that you need for the current position that we're in. It's our time, it's our turn."
On a more tangible level, Williams said he was physically primed to attack the tournament, starting on Saturday against Italy here.
"I've never felt so fit before, never felt so excited."
Keith Robinson's calf injury leaves Williams and Chris Jack as the only fit locks for the Italy game and possibly the second week as well.
"It doesn't phase me one bit, the more time on the field the better," Williams said.
"It's just our responsibility at the moment to show what we can do for this team.
"Keith is a guy who's unfortunately had a lot of bad luck but he's handling it very well. He'll be right."
Williams missed the first two games of the 2003 Cup campaign with a foot injury, forcing Jack and Brad Thorn to play against Italy and Canada.
- NZPA
