LONDON – The All Blacks plan to remain patient with Sonny Bill Williams despite having a midfield quartet “jumping out of their skin” ahead of Saturday’s clash against England at Twickenham.
Cross-code international Williams won his 50th All Blacks cap as the world champions beat Australia 37-20 in Yokohama last month.
But the 33-year-old centre did not feature in last weekend’s 69-31 rout of Japan in Tokyo.
“Sonny’s had the least rugby, he’s still finding his top form; I think that’s fair to say,” New Zealand assistant coach Ian Foster said on Wednesday.
“I don’t think our patience (with Williams) will be driven by his background, more based on how we see players perform in training.
“I think when we look at the physical nature of the game, how they are training, sometimes things are going really good off the park, and it hasn’t quite gelled to the extent they want on the park.
“Sometimes players are deemed to have had a quiet game, but in reality, they may not have had too many opportunities to show what they are good at,” Foster added.
The All Blacks will take on Ireland in Dublin on November 18, and conclude their tour of the northern hemisphere with a trip to Rome to face Italy on November 25.
“We’ve got a whole lot of players who have had injuries this year, significant injuries over time, and they’ve come back and at various degrees of accuracy in their game,” said Foster.
“But also some of them have taken a little longer to get their feet right.
“All our midfielders right now are actually jumping out of their skin, to be honest.
“In the last two weeks, the energy levels and work-rate is as good as it’s been all year in that group.”
CREATIVITY IS THE ANSWER. 答えはひとつ、じゃない。 #SonnyBillWilliamsソニー・ビル・ウィリアムズ と #五郎丸歩がラグビーを通じて表現するクリエイティビティ、そして2人の目指す更なる高みとは。 #HereToCreate #adidas #adidasRugby #ALLBLACKS @SonnyBWilliams @Goro_15
— アディダス ジャパン (@adidas_jp) November 2, 2018
England will hope to unleash a powerhouse centre on Saturday, if Manu Tuilagi is able to make his long-awaited Test comeback.
The Leicester midfielder, whose career has been blighted by injuries, had been due to make his first England appearance in more than two years during last Saturday’s 12-11 win over South Africa at Twickenham, before a minor groin strain ruled him out of a place on the bench.
Tuilagi’s best match in an England shirt arguably came during his try-scoring display in a 38-21 win over New Zealand at Twickenham in 2012.
Leicester teammate Ben Youngs, the England scrumhalf, is eager for more of the same this weekend.
🎥 What are the All Blacks expecting from @EnglandRugby at Twickenham and how are the players feeling after all their travel? Find out from Sam Whitelock and Ian Foster. #ENGvNZL pic.twitter.com/BuPjG9V7Kp
— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) November 6, 2018
“I was gutted when he pulled out (of the South Africa match), but it was a tiny niggle,” said Youngs. “But with someone like him, it was not worth risking.
“It’s great to see him running around in training. I’m really pleased he’s able to get back out there. He’s looking good.
“We know what a world-class operator Manu is. It settles down the boys to know that he’s there.”