Blitzboks play down Sonny Bill factor

Williams has been training with the All Blacks Sevens for the past few months, but only cracked the nod for their squad ahead of the home leg of the HSBC World Sevens series. That means he has a date with the Springbok Sevens on Saturday, who make up group A with Scotland, Russia and hosts New Zealand.

While there is no doubt every rugby fan is excited to see how much damage Williams will do in the shortest format of the game, the Blitzbokke were more objective about the potential impact he will have on the game.

Francois Hougaard, who is a fifteens convert himself, has played against Williams in both Super Rugby and Test match situations. The Bulls and Springbok scrumhalf has plenty of respect for the bulldozing All Black centre, but he also cautioned against expecting too much from Williams.

“There is no doubt that Sonny Bill is a great athlete and an amazing talent. I think everyone in World Rugby knows that,” Hougaard said.

“But Sevens is a totally different game, I think if people are going to focus too much on him it’s going to take their focus off their goal at the end of the day. There is no doubt that he is going to be a threat and be great at the game of Sevens. He’s a big guy, he’s a got a good step and speed and obviously he’s known for his offloads. I’m looking forward to seeing what he brings to the game.”

Williams will certainly dominate collisions and create space for his surrounding players just like he does in the fifteen man game, but Hougaard said most of the players on the circuit have faced players of similar talent before.

“With his size and offloads, I expect him to get a lot of momentum up the field and break tackles and make offloads. In Sevens, if you break the line you pretty much score every time.

“I’m thinking of the offloads, the momentum he will bring because he’s a big guy, he’s got good feet so he can manipulate the defence. I think everyone is excited to see what he brings. But we’ve all played against guys like that in 15 and Sevens too - Fiji has got 12 ‘Sonny Bills’ you know,” Hougaard joked.

In comparison to Williams, a player like Cheslin Kolbe is on the opposite side of the spectrum. Despite his diminutive size, the Western Province fullback has proved himself on the Sevens circuit by playing to his strengths. Knowing all too well that Sevens is more about the collective, Kolbe believes a team effort will always nullify individuals like Williams.

“It’s definitely a good opportunity for players coming in from Super Rugby into Sevens setup. You can’t just focus on one player, if you do that they will create opportunities for their teammates. We’ll just have stick to our structures, play what’s in front of us and not focus on one individual,” Kolbe said.

“Sevens is a different ball game compared to fifteens. You have to attack and make quick decisions – it’s about the guy who is the best on the day and the guy who will play towards the structures and the players next to him.”

Meanwhile Western Province captain Juan de Jongh continues his stint with the Blitzboks. A stalwart of the fifteen man game, the centre believes the Springbok Sevens are ready for every scenario.

“When it comes to this weekend, we are going to be well prepared. We know what’s coming and who we’re playing against – we’ll know their strengths and weaknesses. We can only focus on ourselves first before we focus on what we expect this weekend. We want to get results so it’s important to be well prepared and tick our boxes – hopefully we can lift the cup.”

The Blitzbokke face Scotland first up in Auckland. An early one for South Africans – 02h24 on Saturday morning.

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