KEY POINTS:
Senior Blues players are angry that management have implied it was they who made the decision to send Ali Williams home.
Since arriving in New Zealand on Tuesday, Williams has been contacted by members of the Blues leadership group with messages of support, stressing they recommended he only
be stood down for last night's semifinal - not sent home in disgrace.
Sources in contact with the Blues leadership group say there is a simmering resentment towards management, who they believe have hidden behind the players after failing to address the problem of Williams' indiscipline earlier in the season.
They are also unhappy with the press release that went out announcing Williams' fate, believing it to be unnecessarily detailed and placing too much onus on the role of the players.
The Herald on Sunday understands that Williams' first breach of team protocol while on tour occurred on Tuesday May 1 in Perth, when the 26-year-old All Black went out drinking with other Blues players not in the 22 selected to play Western Force on May 4.
Joe Rokocoko, Angus Macdonald and David Holwell were not in the 22 to play the Force.
The leadership group of Troy Flavell, Doug Howlett, Steve Devine, Justin Collins, Nick White and Keven Mealamu determined there would be a no-drinking policy while in Perth until after the match.
It is believed that having broken that protocol to celebrate his birthday, Williams apparently drew attention to himself the following morning by being obviously the worse for wear.
He retained his place in the match-day 22, coming off the bench in the second half, and then went out in Perth after the game on a sanctioned night out with the entire squad.
The squad flew to Sydney on Saturday May 5 and on arrival were told by management not to indulge in a big night out, as they were likely to fly to South Africa the following morning depending on results of other games.
But Williams and fellow All Black Luke McAlister, who was heading back to Auckland the next day because of a hamstring strain, went into town.
Some Blues players were still up watching rugby - the Lions versus Cheetahs game kicked off at 11pm Sydney time, followed by the Stormers versus Sharks at 1.05am and the Bulls versus Reds at 3.10am - when the pair returned.
The next morning, Williams made an inappropriate comment to a waitress. The remark was neither sexual nor racial but caused embarrassment to the worker and Blues team-mates.
Shortly before boarding the flight to Johannesburg, news of Williams' drinking filtered back to team management and it is understood they asked the leadership group to discuss a course of action regarding the lock's behaviour.
The leadership group agreed to impose the ultimate sanction within their powers, which was to recommend Williams not be included in the match-day 22 to face the Sharks in Durban last night. With that decision made, management then took control and manager Ant Strachan phoned chief executive Andy Dalton shortly before boarding the flight.
It is understood management were seeking permission to send Williams back to New Zealand but airport security forced Strachan to terminate the call before agreement was reached.
Williams was, therefore, taken to Johannesburg and on the flight, management learned more details about his indiscretions. On reaching the Republic, he was informed he would be returning to New Zealand.
Williams had been spoken to by senior players and management several times before the trip about minor issues such as being late for training and failing to carry out an obligation with a team sponsor.
While Williams was in the air, the Blues released a statement that he had been sent home because of repeated breaches of protocol and called a press conference in Auckland headed by Dalton.
There was then confused public utterances by Strachan linking Williams' departure to the Blues needing locking cover in their 22.
Strachan appeared to suggest that after the decision was made not to play Williams, they needed locking cover and called for Anthony Boric. Williams endorsed this on Wednesday when he said that as a consequence of Boric flying in, he had to leave because Sanzar will pay the costs for only 26 players when a team travels. But Boric was not named in the 22 - Angus Macdonald was instead preferred - and even with Boric, the Blues have only 25 players.
Experts believe Williams would have a cast-iron grievance case should he choose to pursue it but those close to him believe he won't take that course of action.
"Ali's acknowledged his disappointment, he's taking responsibility for his actions in a disappointing situation," said New Zealand Rugby Players' Association boss Rob Nichol.
"Moving forward, part of him taking responsibility is working through the issues and identifying areas that he needs to work on. Working through those issues will be undertaken with Blues management.
"We expect that to be a positive process. We also expect everyone involved to learn a lot from this process."
Whatever the outcome of the 'process', it would appear Williams' rugby future in this country is tenuous.
Williams, who scored two tries yesterday for Ponsonby against University, is believed to have had discipline issues in the past while playing for the All Blacks.
The Herald on Sunday understands he wants to take three months out after the World Cup to travel. An unnamed club in France is known to want his services after his jaunt.
