He is lonely, he feels isolated, he feels homesick, he feels treated badly by his club, and now someone that is part of the Sonny Bill Williams “camp” has put feelers out to the Bulldogs on a possible return.
This was always bound to happen at some point.
As his merry band of idiots rushed him overseas to a foreign country where they don’t speak English, to play a foreign game under a system where players really are treated like peices of meat by teams owners, Sonny Bill seemingly forgot to look at the future.
I’m not talking about the fantasy land future where he’ll play in France, earn millions of dollars, then come back to New Zealand and play for the All Blacks in the World Cup!
I’m talking about being 23, living in France, playing Rugby Union, knowing your family and friends are on the other side of the planet, knowing you have no support system around you, knowing that you are now play for a club that will sack you on the spot for playing poorly or being injury prone….and knowing that all those “friends” that convinced you to trash your career are back in Sydney, earning 10% of what you make for their troubles.
I don’t think the penny dropped and Sonny Bill Williams has realized how he has been used. he is too utterly stupid and naive for that.
I think whats happened is when thrown into the uncaring French Rugby Union environment, he has realized that he had it pretty bloody good at the Bulldogs, even when it was at his worst.
See in French Rugby Union, there are no players protections or support systems. If you are more injured than a club owner is willing to put up with, they will tear up your contract. When you say “But I have a contract!” they will simply look at you and say “What contract?”.
An NRL club can’t do that.
In the NRL there is a lot of focus on player welfare. Obviously clubs want to get the best out of their players, so they want them to be at their best physically as well as mentally. Even if it is for selfish reasons, a club will help a player out, with the payoff being better on field performances.
In French Rugby Union they will tell a players to shut their mouth and play, after all, that what they are paid for. They couldn’t give a stuff what problems you’re going through.
The ironic thing is, Sonny Bill Williams wants to go back to the Bulldogs, but I don’t think the Bulldogs would ever want him back after the trouble he has caused them. Its clear the players don’t want him back and the fans…..well, they hate his guts!
Anyway, what team would want to invest in an injury prone 21 year old who walks out on contracts, who makes accusations about his clubs he can’t back up, who rubbishes the people that really have tried to help him and who brings that bunch of idiots led by Anthony Mundine with him?
If Sonny Bill Williams is serious, this is what he would do.
GO HOME….get back to New Zealand and take 2009 off. Rest your injuries, surround yourself with family, don’t say a word to the media, get back with his old manager who guided his career for him before and just be a bloke from Auckland for a year.
If he is up to it and wants to play again in 2010, he’ll be 25, a whole lot more mature, and I would say he should play for the Warriors who I know would welcome him with open arms and treat him well.
Then he wouldn’t have to put up with the Sydney media spotlight every week, he’ll be with his family and it should be a lot more settled for him.
Then again, that would be the smart thing to do, and as we have seen, Williams is an easily led, brainless idiot.
