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Sonny Bill`s stormy debut

Saturday 09th August 2008

Outlaw: Sonny Bill Williams after his first match for Toulon

Sonny Bill Williams made his debut for Toulon on Friday, leaving him open to be declared in contempt of the Australian Supreme Court.

The court has ruled that Williams is in breach of his contract with the Canterbury Bulldogs after the Kiwi walked out on the club to join Toulon. Any appearance for Toulon in a professional capacity would make him in breach of contract.

Williams was also found to be in contempt of the rules during the match, with a Rugby League trademark shoulder-charge tackle earning him a yellow card.

He was good enough to apologise to his opponent, from the F�derale League club Hy�res, before leaving the pitch to wild cheers from the Toulon fans.

He had also previously been smuggled into the ground, so as to avoid having a court order served upon him before the match.

Meanwhile, Bayonne edged Saracens 29-27 in an entertaining match in France's south-west, with Andy Farrell and Brent Russell on the scoresheet.

The Western Force kicked off their European tour with a 25-15 win over Newcastle, including a tr from injury returnee Junior Pelesasa and a four from five kick return from young fly-half Hames O'Connor.

In Ontario, Gloucester fought back from 12-8 down against a young Canada team to win 34-12.

It was the first game for all three Guinness Premiership teams under the new laws. The verdict? Gloucester's Bryan Redpath said: "We thought we would do some stuff with the new laws, but to be honest the game hasn't changed that much. The contact area is a little messier, but outside that there wasn't a huge amount different in that so I was never concerned."