Sonny Bill Williams’ new Japanese club have cleared the Rugby World Cup and Super Rugby winning centre to play for the All Blacks in their opening Four Nations Rugby Championship matches against Australia.
rugbyweek
Williams joined the Panasonic Wild Knights last month but when Conrad Smith was ruled out of the two opening Rugby Championship matches the New Zealand Rugby Union asked his new club to release him for the two matches.
With less than a week until the opening match, there were doubts Williams would be available as the Japanese club insisted on medical tests to ensure he was fully fit after a taxing season with Super Rugby winners the Waikato Chiefs.
But the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) said Monday that all arrangements had been made for Williams, 26, to again don the black jersey and it could confirm his place in the team.
“It’s what we expected, but we knew it was going to take a bit of time, and we are now all looking forward to preparing for Saturday’s challenge,” All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said in a statement.
The decision means Williams will play Australia in Sydney next Saturday and Auckland a week later.
After completing a lucrative stint in Japan, Williams is expected to return to Australia’s National Rugby League next year, the competition where he made his name with a 2004 premiership win with the Canterbury Bulldogs in his rookie season.