Yes, it's an old fashioned idea that you can't judge a footy player's current ability and health from Twitter traffic. But there you have it - old habits die hard. And unless SBW turns up on the field soon, the doubts - not to mention conspiracy theories - will rightly grow.
A Sydney newspaper has already suggested the ex-league star has been put in cotton wool by the All Blacks and he is fertile ground for such claims. SBW has led a charmed life in rugby, where he's been allowed to pursue a boxing career and jump codes while others have kept his rugby positions (and probably an Olympic spot) warm.
The SBW trend this year has been late withdrawals from games and longer than predicted absences creating an odd feel. Chiefs coach Dave Rennie - a straight up and down character - assured media last week that the ball-playing inside back is close to a return and that's good enough for now. But if this situation lingers any further, the suspicion will grow that All Black Black Ops are involved.
For my money, Williams still has to prove himself properly and he needs game time to get in best form. Even a player like the legendary Dan Carter, with a huge history in rugby, has struggled to get up to speed after disruptions and is still battling in the running department.
If SBW's back really is that problematic, how can he be assured of a World Cup place? Surely the selectors need to see if he can put his best game together and his back lasts under playing conditions.
While SBW can do no wrong in some people's eyes, others get annoyed at the way rugby (and the Kiwi league camp for that matter) bows and scrapes before his whims while others must play to different rules. Such is the All Blacks' hold on the country that any bad PR is not a problem for rugby and SBW is a publicity winner. But in real rugby terms the All Blacks are playing with fire, relying on a player with a hotchpotch rugby career and a long history of injury problems in two codes.
Canes have earned a final berth
I hope the Hurricanes make the final. They have been amazing this year, playing a freewheeling brand of rugby which blew the below-strength Highlanders away in the latest round. The Super Rugby pack has had to eat the Hurricanes dust and it would be a travesty if they didn't make the ultimate game.
It is necessary to suspend reality at times watching Super Rugby. The balance of the match in Napier was badly affected by inequitable All Black meddling which ripped top players out of the Highlanders, yet Ma'a Nonu seemed to get a dispensation to play. That aside, the Hurricanes turned on great stuff. Their patterns were often predictable, including using their ball playing lock James Broadhurst as a first receiver. But they did it so well that Jamie Joseph's men had no answer when it counted.
