Sonny Bill Williams: Ireland and Springboks have ‘mastered the modern game’ and the All Blacks are ‘struggling’
The top two teams in the world, Ireland and Springboks, facing off in 2024, alongside All Blacks legend Sonny Bill Williams.
Two-time Rugby World Cup winner Sonny Bill Williams claims that Ireland and South Africa have adapted to modern day rugby much better than the All Blacks.
The cross-code legend was appearing on Off The Ball and highlighted the key areas where New Zealand are perhaps falling down.
Many observers believe that the All Blacks could be paying the price for South Africa’s departure from Super Rugby, but Williams disagrees.
In fact, the 39-year-old insists that not enough weight has been placed on the individuals’ form in that competition.
It was the Blues who dominated in 2024 but some of their outstanding players, such as Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Patrick Tuipulotu and Mark Tele’a, have not been automatic starters this year, while their star performer, Hoskins Sotutu, has been sidelined completely by Scott Robertson.
The ‘Super Rugby excuse’
“Let’s talk about the ‘Super Rugby excuse’, as a I call it. For a bit, I fell into that too; ‘we don’t play South Africa, we’re not playing against these different type of bodies’,” Williams said.
“I understand that but, if that was the case, if we really banked on Super Rugby form, where’s our Blues players?
“The majority of players that are playing are from the Crusaders, who had a disastrous season.
“I feel like success leaves clues and the way that Ireland have approached the modern game, the way that South Africa have approached the modern game, they’ve got a 23-man emphasis and I don’t feel like we’ve mastered it yet.
“The first theory of why we’re struggling is because we don’t have South Africa playing in Super Rugby. Well, to truly test that, let’s play the best players out of Super Rugby.
“Give them a shot. Where’s Mark Tele’a? Where’s Paddy Tuipulotu? Where’s Ofa Tu’ungafasi? Let’s give them a shot and we’ll see if we that form in Super Rugby can translate into the national side.”
Blues impact
Of those three, only Tuipulotu made the squad for the final match of the Rugby Championship, but they were all involved against England and had a significant influence on the end result.
Mark Tele’a touched down twice in the 24-22 victory while Tu’ungafasi and his forward colleague impacted the match superbly as replacements.
It is the bench which has caused the most consternation for Robertson this year, particularly during the Rugby Championship, but Williams believes that the games against England should act as a guide for the head coach.
“Mastering the 23-man modern game is something we’re struggling with at the moment,” he said.
“We’ve lost three games and when we lost against South Africa, (Tyrel) Lomax was on the field in the 70th minute.
“In those three games, I don’t think we got the interchanges right, and the coaches have come out and said that.
“The three games that were close that we probably should have lost – all three Tests against England – that’s where we got our most dominant displays from the bench.
“We brought them on early, we showed that we valued them. Guys that were coming off the bench – Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Asafo Aumua – these guys came on and changed the game.”
‘Fixable’ issues
Williams finished on a positive, however. While some believe that the All Blacks’ dominance over the rest of the world is over, the former centre reckons that their issues can be rectified quite easily.
“We think we’re in a crisis because we’re coming third and it’s unheard of,” he added.
“I played almost 60 Tests and only lost five, and I remember more about those five games than the rest of the Tests because it was like someone died in the family, that’s how bad it was.
“We can either dwell on that fact or actually look at the problems we’re struggling with, which are fixable.
“They are fixable, we have talent in New Zealand, it’s not the problem. It’s about trying to get back to mastering the modern game.”
