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Ali Williams: Time for new All Blacks to make their mark

In his first exclusive column for RugbyPass, Ali Williams recalls the first time he was named an All Black and offers congratulations to the new recruits.

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Being named an All Black is a special moment and it affects everyone that has been involved in your rugby career.

I started playing rugby at 16, and everyone around me got invested once I decided to turn my attention towards the sport. When I was first named an All Black I’d only been playing professional rugby for about two years, and when you’re first named everyone who had helped you reach that point are the first ones there to congratulate you. Your 1st XV coaches ring you, your headmaster, your first senior coach, your provincial coach, family and friends. All these people ring you, and it’s a reward for what they’ve done as part of your career.

Leading up to the team being named, there’s all the media and the hype and the speculation but when you’re actually in it, you don’t even look at it. Everyone else looks at it and then tells you about it.

Everyone wants to be named, it’s quite clear, so when it does happen it can come as a major surprise, especially in my case.

I was 20 years old, I’d only played one year of Super Rugby and one year of provincial rugby. At the end of my first year of NPC in 2001, I’d heard rumblings of ‘oh he could be a bolter, he could do this’. My first thought was ‘that’s unrealistic’.

I didn’t make it in that year, they picked some guy named Chris Jack, but the following year I had a good Super Rugby season – I played a little bit but I wasn’t a main starter – and I won the NPC with Auckland. We had a big after-party on Waiheke Island. I’d snuck off to the Portaloo – that’s how we do it in New Zealand, we don’t have proper toilets sometimes – came back and the team for the All Blacks’ End of Year tour had been named.

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There were your regulars, or your guys that were ‘shoulder-tapped’. Before, you didn’t get shoulder-tapped or you didn’t have the communication with the All Black coaches, whereas now it’s a lot more obvious that coaches are looking at you when you’re called in for a camp in the middle of the season. These guys have had about three camps this year – foundation days – so you can get in and around the environment. Back then we didn’t have that.

So, my name gets called out while I’m on the Portaloo, then I came out and all the guys were giving me a bit of grief, ‘Oh yeah, you’re in the All Blacks,’ you think it’s all just tongue-in-cheek. Reality only set in when my coach, Wayne Pivac, came up to me and said ‘Look mate, genuinely, you’re in there, you’ve got to assemble tomorrow’. A few weeks later I made my test debut against England.

Being named will always remain very special for a lot of people. It doesn’t matter if it’s your first naming or your tenth. We would still text each other – Richie, Dan, myself, Andrew Hore, Tony Woodcock, Keven Mealamu – we’d just text each other a ‘well done mate’.

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There was still that real sense of ‘I’ve made it’, because within the team we created an attitude that nothing was given, and you can’t take anything for granted. The coaches would reiterate that.

After being named there would be some very happy families, happy kids, all happy for these men that have put in the hard work. At the end of the day only they know what they’ve put in. Jordan Taufua is a prime example. He’s been there or thereabouts for probably five or six years now. A guy that’s put his body on the line, mentally invested into going somewhere with rugby.

I’ve played with the kid and he is very energetic. He physically wanted to dominate. Someone like that would just be over the moon, and now it gets even more exciting as he looks towards the challenges ahead of him and gets his opportunity to show what he can do at the next level.

As for Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, he has done very well in being named. I actually met one of his cousins and they were having a big congratulations ceremony, so you could see the cultural aspect coming into it there.

It’s still a very sacred moment for a lot of people, new and seasoned All Blacks so congratulations to all of them. They’re part of the club now.

As I say, sometimes the easy part is getting in, the hard part is doing something when you’re in there. There’s no point in just wearing the jersey, you’ve got to leave it in a better state than when you received it. The challenge is there, this new group is taking it further than we did, constantly evolving, and I’m excited to see what the three new All Blacks can add to the team.

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B
BeamMeUp 3 hours ago
The Springboks have something you don't have

A few comments. Firstly, I am a Bok fan and it's been a golden period for us. I hope my fellow Bok fans appreciate this time and know that it cannot last forever, so soak it all in!


The other thing to mention (and this is targeted at Welsh, English and even Aussie supporters who might be feeling somewhat dejected) is that it's easy to forget that just before Rassie Erasmus took over in 2018, the Boks were ranked 7th in the world and I had given up hope we'd ever be world beaters again.


Sport is a fickle thing and Rassie and his team have managed to get right whatever little things it takes to make a mediocre team great. I initially worried his methods might be short-lived (how many times can you raise a person's commitment by talking about his family and his love of his country as a motivator), but he seems to have found a way. After winning in 2019 on what was a very simple game plan, he has taken things up ever year - amazing work which has to be applauded! (Dankie Rassie! Ons wardeer wat jy vir die ondersteuners en die land doen!) (Google translate if you don't understand Afrikaans! 😁)


I don't think people outside South Africa fully comprehend the enormity of the impact seeing black and white, English, Afrikaans and Xhosa and all the other hues playing together does for the country's sense of unity. It's pure joy and happiness.


This autumn tour has been a bit frustrating in that the Boks have won, but never all that convincingly. On the one hand, I'd like to have seen more decisive victories, BUT what Rassie has done is expose a huge number of players to test rugby, whilst also diversifying the way the Boks play (Tony Brown's influence).


This change of both style and personnel has resulted in a lack of cohesion at times and we've lost some of the control, whereas had we been playing our more traditional style, that wouldn't happen. This is partially attributable to the fact that you cannot play Tony Brown's expansive game whilst also having 3 players available at every contact point to clear the defence off the ball. I have enjoyed seeing the Boks play a more exciting, less attritional game, which is a boring, albeit effective spectacle. So, I am happy to be patient, because the end justifies the means (and I trust Rassie!). Hopefully all these players we are blooding will give us incredible options for substitutions come next year's Rugby Championship and of course, the big prize in 2027.


Last point! The game of rugby has never been as exciting as it is now. Any of Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, France, Argentina, Scotland, England & Australia can beat one another. South Africa may be ranked #1, but I wouldn't bet my house in them beating France or New Zealand, and we saw Argentina beating both South Africa and New Zealand this year! That's wonderful for the game and makes the victories we do get all the sweeter. Each win is 100% earned. Long may it last!


Sorry for the long post! 🏉🌍

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