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Sonny Bill Williams allowed to cover Super Rugby shirt sponsors

Sonny Bill Williams with the sponsors covered in tape on his Blues shirt

Sonny Bill Williams will be allowed to wear a Blues jersey without certain sponsors for this weekend’s Super Rugby clash with Hurricanes.

The cross-code star made his first Blues appearance against Highlanders last time out after recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon at the Rio Olympics.

Williams came off the bench in the second half in the 26-20 defeat with some sponsors on his shirt covered in tape.

Ahead of the next round of fixtures Williams, who is a practicing Muslim, asked for special dispensation to have the logos of BNZ and Investec removed from his shirt on religious grounds.

“I want to be clear that this is nothing personal against the BNZ or Investec,” Williams said in a statement, as quoted by the New Zealand Herald.

“My objection to wearing clothing that markets banks, alcohol and gambling companies is central to my religious beliefs and it is important to me to have been granted this exemption.

“As I learn more and develop a deeper understanding of my faith, I am no longer comfortable doing things I used to do. So while a logo on a jersey might seem like a small thing to some people, it is important to me that I do the right thing with regards to my faith and hope that people respect that.

“I know I’m not perfect. Every day I work hard to become a better person. I want to thank the Blues and New Zealand Rugby for working with me through this matter over the last couple of days and respecting my religion and accommodating my request.”

New Zealand Rugby general manager Neil Sorensen confirmed the request had been accepted as it was a “conscientious objection”.

He said: “Sonny holds clear religious beliefs in relation to this matter and we respect those. Conscientious objections need to be genuine, and we believe this is.”

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Nickers 19 minutes ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

I thought we made a lot of progress against that type of defence by the WC last year. Lots of direct running and punching holes rather than using width. Against that type of defence I think you have to be looking to kick on first phase when you have front foot ball which we did relatively successfully. We are playing a lot of rugby behind the gain line at the moment. They are looking for those little interchanges for soft shoulders and fast ball or off loads but it regularly turns into them battering away with slow ball and going backwards, then putting in a very rushed kick under huge pressure.


JB brought that dimension when he first moved into 12 a couple of years ago but he's definitely not been at his best this year. I don't know if it is because he is being asked to play a narrow role, or carrying a niggle or two, but he does not look confident to me. He had that clean break on the weekend and stood there like he was a prop who found himself in open space and didn't know what to do with the ball. He is still a good first phase ball carrier though, they use him a lot off the line out to set up fast clean ball, but I don't think anyone is particularly clear on what they are supposed to do at that point. He was used really successfully as a second playmaker last year but I don't think he's been at that role once this year. He is a triple threat player but playing a very 1 dimensional role at the moment. He and Reiko have been absolutely rock solid on defence which is why I don't think there will be too much experimentation or changes there.

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