Filed under: Rugby Union, Rugby World Cup, Internationals, New Zealand Rugby
All Blacks centre Sonny Bill Williams has enjoyed a nomadic career, taking him across continents and codes. But his admittance this week that he could leave Canterbury Crusaders has nothing to do with ambition or the prospect of a bigger pay packet.To put it bluntly, Williams has had enough of living in an earthquake zone. He lives in the city of Christchurch, which has been enduring strong aftershocks just five months after a massive quake hit and killed almost 200 people.
He can scarcely be blamed for wanting a move away from the area. The city is still far from rebuilt and a symbol of how far away the inhabitants are from returning to normal is the fact that the Crusaders' home ground is still unable to stage a rugby match.
Williams, whose side play the the Sharks in the Super Rugby play-off game on Saturday night (New Zealand time) for a place in the semi-finals, said: "I have loved my time down here but I won't lie, it has been pretty difficult with the earthquakes and moving around.
"But I am fortunate I am still here. I don't have much family down here and there are a lot of people worse off than me."
Williams' contract with the New Zealand Rugby Football Union - which ties him to Canterbury - runs out at the end of the World Cup. And there has been speculation that the former Toulon player could once again head abroad.
But before fans of European clubs get too excited, the pull of staying with the All Blacks is strong - and a move overseas would of course rule him out of contention for a place in future squads, owing to the eligibility rules laid down by the NZRFU.
And his manager Khoder Nasser said earlier in the season that it was most likely he would remain in New Zealand and with the All Blacks.
Two possible destinations are with the Waikato Chiefs and the Auckland Blues, who are both situated closer to his family, who are all in New Zealand's North Island.
But Williams is adamant he is yet to think about his next club, adding: "I want to try and make my mind up, hopefully if I make the All Blacks squad, probably after the Super 15 season, when I can really sit down and have a good time to assess everything and weigh up all my options."
Wherever Williams ends up after the World Cup, few would begrudge him wanting to move away from Christchurch. As he admits, he has no family ties to the city; the only thing keeping him there is his Crusaders contract.
Many with far stronger ties than this have already left - sick and tired of living with the intermittent tremors which still shake the area, following the quake that changed the city forever.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Patrick Vieira Paul Casey Paul Scholes Pavel Nedved Petr Cech
No comments:
Post a Comment