Play nzherald.co.nz's rugby Pick the Score competition - go to: pickthescore.nzherald.co.nz
He's back but not in full voice. Not yet.
But Ali Williams is back in blue after a year's sojourn down south, a Super 14 season when he kept himself away from David Nucifora whose plans, ideals and strategies did not match those of the raffish international lock.
He is
back after the delayed resumption of his Blues career when his back did not agree with some pre-season weightlifting and he had to pass on the trip to Perth and South Africa.
Williams gave his frame a test run last week and then signed his own warrant of fitness in a declaration which was a boost for the Blues as fellow test lock Anthony Boric checked out with an elbow injury.
The 27-year-old lock was primed for battle against the Sharks, unbeaten in this year's competition and heading for a fourth-round clash tomorrow at Eden Park.
Coach Pat Lam gratefully announced Williams in the Blues' side but there was to be no chat with the 2.02m lock. Down the years, there has been little shortage of ebullient conversation, repartee and verbal sparring with the All Black.
There have been episodes when he has been restrained and even subdued like he was in 2007, when he was sent home from South Africa after one episode too many for the staff and players to appreciate. Last year, Williams picked up his ball and scuttled off to the Crusaders while Nucifora completed his contract.
While Robbie Deans and Nucifora can now compare notes about Williams as they sit together at the apex of the Wallabies' coaching complex, the lock has skedaddled back to the Blues' new regime led by Pat Lam.
Time for a chat Ali? Some thoughts on your return from injury, exile, the year ahead, the merits of sabbatical leave, rugby at this time of year, tangling with the Sharks, reuniting with Chris Jack?
Not on your Nellie son, or something like that, was the apparent response. While the remainder of the Blues side who were also coping with jetlag after their return from South Africa dealt with media inquiries, Williams was allowed to deliver a "nyet" response with a codicil that he would have something to say after he had played his first match tomorrow at Eden Park.
Oh really. What if something else ruffles Williams or steers him off course?
Forget our gripes, though, Lam was delighted he had his premier lock back this weekend. And why not. If he was fit and had team values near the top of his must-do list, Williams could bring the experience and know-how of 61 tests and seven seasons of Super rugby to the squad.
By all accounts the senior members of the squad which travelled to Perth then Africa excelled in helping the team newcomers deal with all the different demands of rugby at this level and in foreign lands.
"He will give the team a lift," Lam said as he slotted Williams in for Boric in the second row. "It's pleasing and Ali is really keen to get into it."
Lam had not noticed much change in Williams although he had detected a hunger from the All Black lock to get back into action. He had been frustrated by his enforced inactivity and was primed to play.
Williams and his colleagues will need to be sharp against a Sharks side who will have been boosted by their win last week against the Chiefs as they beat their travel fatigue and got the benefit of several contentious TMO decisions.
A week on, the Sharks should feel far more settled while the Blues will be weary after their long-distance travel back from South Africa. It will be a case of mindgames for many of the Blues while Williams will be fresh but without a great deal of match hardness and Jimmy Gopperth and Onosai Tololima Auva'a have had a couple of extra days to recover.
In Cape Town last week, the Blues showed the sort of defensive resilience for their victory which the Sharks displayed against the Chiefs in Hamilton. Those sort of mindgames will go a long way towards the result tomorrow at Eden Park.
