All Blacks: SBW facing toughest test

Sonny Bill Williams. Photo / Getty Images

A rugby genius growing into the No 12 shirt, Sonny Bill Williams is still coming to grips with the wider demands of being an All Black.

With his superstar status, everyone in the UK has wanted a piece of Williams and there are believed to have been times when the big man has struggled to cope.

The life of a touring All Black is demanding - sponsors have their roadshows, media need their sound-bites, photographers their pictures and then there are the fans, awe-struck whenever they see the men in black, ready to pounce with pen and paper in hand.

It's not as if Williams, so enormous and so recognisable, can meld into the background. It's not as if he is ever going to be passed up on media days and the cameras love him.

Still only 24 and relatively new to the code, there have been times when he has understandably wanted to be left alone - to be out of the limelight and free to be just another cog in the wheel. But the All Blacks don't work like that.

They are the people's team and the obligations, the demands, are never ending. It's part and parcel of the gig - part of the reason the pay-cheques are as big as they are and Williams is having to learn that there is no escape clause.

Being an All Black comes with inherent pressures and demands and there is no way round them.

"I think that at the start in the first week I felt like an extra walking about with the boys - I was a little bit in awe of all of them, of the silver fern," he says of his initial period as an All Black. "It is such a big brand, the All Blacks, but after a couple of weeks getting to know them, they are just boys like myself, normal guys and I started to get a little bit more comfortable.

"There are so many people [in the media], so many questions. But you get used to it. It surprises me how analysed the game is. It is a worldwide game so every man and his dog have their opinions.

"Where I come from, league, it is just a two or three country game so it is not really over-analysed like that. With all the people talking about the All Blacks and myself, there is a lot of added pressure so you have to perform every time.

"You don't get as much exposure in league as you do with the All Blacks. You don't get 20 people waiting outside the hotel for signatures - not for myself but for the other boys, like DC [Dan Carter]."

It's not just the extent of the demands and intrusions that has thrown Williams.

The All Blacks under Graham Henry are trying to build independent thinkers, self-reliance and strong decision-makers.

Much of this is apparently alien to Williams who, by all accounts, relies heavily on the influence of his manager Khoder Nasser.

The intriguing part now is how this tour will affect Williams' thinking about his future. He's signed only to the end of the World Cup and the New Zea-land Rugby Union are hounding those players coming off contract to make decisions about 2012 well before the tournament kicks off in September.

It's obvious Williams has the potential to be an All Black great. He could build a long and successful test career if he's prepared to stick around and sign for the long-term. He'll be a massive star at the 2011 World Cup and potentially out of this world in 2015, if he stays.

But can he get a better handle on the All Black ethos? Can he learn to be as patient and as professional as the likes of Carter and Richie McCaw, who live effortlessly in the spotlight?

The offers will flood in early next year. Toulon have already said they will pay whatever it takes to get him back. A number of NRL clubs, despite what has been said and all the history, will come in for Williams.

He's an incredible athlete - a brilliant ball player.

That is not enough in the All Blacks camp - and he needs to decide whether he can work as hard off the field as he has on it.