League is the game that comes most naturally to him. He needn't stray out of his comfort zone in the 13-man game.
He may have to sit out the 2012 season but, with the league salary cap set to almost double, he'd happily serve his penance, picking up some bumper pay days with a few fights before returning in 2013.
It would seem extraordinarily odd for him to stay in rugby but reject the chance to play for the All Blacks. Toulon would have him back, a handful of other French clubs would be interested, as would Bath - again they'd all have to wait until July 2012 before they would have the money. The Australian Super Rugby teams would make a big play for him, too, if they could find the money, but could he really play a game not in his heart if there wasn't
the lure of an All Black jersey?
Williams looks most likely to wash up back in the game he sensationally quit in 2008. There is some hope, however, that he'll stay here and play for either the Blues or Chiefs.
That hope is dependent on not much else other than Williams finding the desire and passion to prove he's as good as the people around him are telling him he is. It's dependent on Williams accepting his wider responsibilities, thinking more of the team and less about himself. His current situation has created a vacuum of knowledge which has mainly been filled with speculation.
Theories have been floated that his contract saga was at the heart of his non-selection for the match-day 22 in Brisbane. Hardly. His non-selection was based on three things: the continued excellence of Ma'a Nonu, Williams' failure to nail his opportunity in Port Elizabeth, and the need to have adequate cover on the bench which meant selecting the versatile Isaia Toeava.
Being pushed into the stands had the effect of aggravating further Williams' management team who are struggling to come to terms with the All Black way of doing things.
Much has been made of an alleged stand-off as a consequence of Williams having been made an offer with a rival New Zealand Rugby Union sponsor.
South Pacific Brands want Williams to endorse their Pure Energy brand but the NZRU has said no on the grounds that their sponsor, Coca-Cola, has threatened to reduce the value of its sponsorship should the deal be sanctioned.
Williams' agent Khoder Nasser has asked the NZRU to pay the endorsement fee Williams is losing, which they have refused to do. But Williams can seek arbitration which would require the NZRU to prove they really would be financially penalised by Coca-Cola. Proving that will be tough, especially as they allowed Dan Carter, Richie McCaw and Ali Williams to set up a water company that is in direct competition to Coca-Cola's Pump brand.
A resolution, and one favourable to Williams, is likely but this isn't really the nub of the problem. The bigger issue is that Nasser isn't used to not getting his own way and Williams has become accustomed to 'special treatment'. The cold reality that he's 'just one of the boys' in the eyes of the All Blacks and NZRU is proving rather hard to come to terms with.
He's been a star from an early age and has never really encountered adversity. His management team don't appear to be encouraging Williams to stay on after the World Cup to prove himself. Adversity, it seems, is not the potential making of Williams
in their eyes - it is more a hindrance they could do without.
This thinking could all change if Williams can claw his way back into the All Black frame during the World Cup.
"It's a different experience for Sonny," said Graham Henry last week. "He has always been the top person in his position whatever teams he has played in - whether it be rugby or rugby league. Now he's in a situation with the All Blacks where it is high competition for places and he's not guaranteed a run-on spot. So when he gets the opportunity, he needs to nail it."
