Sonny Bill Williams talks to media during his first press conference with Counties Manukau. Photo / Chris Bruce
Sonny Bill Williams is not getting too far ahead of himself, at least publicly, shutting down talk of his certain All Blacks call-up for the November tour.
His return to New Zealand rugby, at the Counties Manukau Steelers training base at Drury, was a far cry from the glamour of
the NRL, which he left just 10 days ago. The weather was wet and cold, and the surroundings far from salubrious. He was put through his paces by Steelers coach Tana Umaga, who worked with him at Toulon from 2008-10.
"I haven't thought about that, to be honest. It's just step by step with Counties at the moment. If you start thinking about all those things, then things don't fall into place," Williams said of the All Blacks. "I need to earn my stripes here and the respect of the boys."
"First day today, just happy to be here with the boys, learning all the structures. I started to tweak the memory bank. A lot of the plays at Counties are the same as the Chiefs. I'm confident that I'll be able to get the feel back."
The 29-year-old said he followed the Chiefs and All Blacks closely in his 18-month hiatus from rugby, not to mention keeping tabs on the ITM Cup.
