It’s only been a matter of months since Sonny Bill Williams announced his retirement from rugby, but the New Zealand great is already staking his claim for a potential future in government.
Having twice been crowned world champion with the All Blacks, won multiple NRL honours and amassed an 8-0 record as a boxer, Williams’ next trick might be saving Australian rugby.
The Wallabies return to Eden Park to face New Zealand on Saturday for the start of the 2021 Rugby Championship, having lost the first leg of this year’s Bledisloe Cup 33-25 last weekend.
Australia haven’t won a match at the Auckland venue since 1986 and last lifted the Bledisloe Cup in 2002, while another of their southern-hemisphere peers, South Africa, are the current world champions.
‘SBW’ appeared on Stan Sport’s Rugby Heaven coverage for the first Bledisloe Test between New Zealand and Australia, which left him under the impression an overhaul is needed by the latter.
As things stand, ‘Giteau’s Law’—named after former Test star Matt Giteau—means only players who have 60 caps or have played seven seasons in Super Rugby can represent the Wallabies.
“The old Giteau rule,” Williams said. “For me, I’m not too far away from controversy, as I’ve found throughout my career, but, for me, when it comes to that rule, I think the question should be what do we want to get out of the Wallabies?
“What do we want to get out of the Wallabies at that level? We want them competing against the top-tier nations, we want them beating them consistently, we want them winning the Bledisloe Cup consistently.
“How do you do that? For me, I think we’ve got it wrong in the sense we think by hoarding the top-earned players, it’s not going to happen. The source of the problem is the footy at school.
“The majority of public schools all play rugby league, and it’s the majority of private schools that will play rugby union.
“How do we change that? Well, I wouldn’t mind that rule going where we get some top-earned players going overseas.”
An exception to Giteau’s Law means a player returning from overseas can also earn a recall if they’ve signed a contract lasting two years or longer with any Super Rugby club.
The rule was, in principle, brought into effect to discourage younger stars from leaving to chase more lucrative deals abroad, while also ensuring the most valuable players remained in Australia.
But Williams—who has played in Australia, New Zealand, France, Canada and Japan—continued to say Rugby Australia would benefit if more money was diverted to developing the youth.
“Say a player that’s on 500 grand that could go overseas and get $1 million, go overseas and get that, and that 500 grand goes back into Australian Rugby Union,” he added.
“Australian Rugby Union is struggling at the moment, so the money that’s left over from that, where does that money go? It goes into schoolboy footy.
“Rugby league will never die in public schools, but if they can just open a little bit of space and create a bit of space for rugby union to thrive, I think that’s where you’ll see the depth in the higher ranks come into play.”
Some Australians may take the words of a two-time Rugby World Cup -winning All Black with a pinch of salt considering their rivalry, but Williams played a large portion of his career Down Under.
He was part of the Canterbury Bulldogs team that won the NRL title in his debut 2004 season, enjoying two further spells with the Sydney Roosters, where he won numerous accolades.
The 36-year-old announced his retirement from rugby in March, though he’s suggested he’ll maintain some presence in athletic competition by turning his attention to boxing:
There are currently only four players among Dave Rennie’s Australia squad that meet the 60-cap criteria allowing them to play abroad and keep their place in the national team.
By contrast, the squad has twice as many uncapped players in the current squad. While the coach may be eager to bring through some fresh talent, that’s a big chunk of the team allocated to players yet to pull on the green and gold.
Among that uncapped contingent is Toulon-based centre Duncan Paia’aua, one of Australia’s two permitted overseas players who doesn’t meet the 60-cap criteria. Samu Kerevi—who plays for Suntory Sungoliath in Japan—is the other following his recent recall.
Williams—who commanded lucrative deals wherever he ventured in his career—also suggested Polynesian players in particular had special motivation to make money while they could.
He concluded: “I think it ticks both boxes in the sense that I’m all for players earning, looking after themselves and their families, especially Polynesian families, because it’s not often their immediate families. You’re looking after quite an extended group.”
