Is this the end of the Sonny Bill sideshow? Could this really be it? Could it just be that in the immediate future, the only headlines we will read about New Zealand sports most talked about, most written about, most feted and arguably our most conceited sports person ever will hopefully be solely about his telling exploits for the Kiwis in the upcoming World Cup? I so fervently hope so. Its not that I will ever tire of the mans extraordinary athleticism in whatever arena he graces. But I for one have certainly had a gutsful of the truly grand manipulation that the masterful media manipulator, Khoder Nasser, has foisted upon us forever and a day. And when you attempt to separate the mystique from the reality, I strongly contend that despite all the feats of their star on the field, their greatest triumph is the sheer connivance that Nasser has perpetrated. Their grand show prompts yet another headline, yet another what decision will he make next article and yet another fleeting insight into what makes the man tick. But thankfully, the eternal truism that you cant hope to fool all of the people all of the time, may just have dawned upon even the ravenous Nasser himself. In fact, given that Sonny Bill has invariably portrayed the impression that he cant choose whether to put his cap on back the front or not without consulting his minders, maybe - just maybe - even he is beginning to develop as much strength of mind, to say enough is enough. And this has to be the only upside to the shameful, tawdry way in which both Nasser and therefore Williams undeniably broke the heart of Tohu Harris only hours after the young man was told that he was a fully-fledged member of the Kiwis World Cup squad. The sheer selfishness and cynicism was fully exposed in that one incident. It really became the final proof that there is no depth to which Team SBW wont plumb in order to put themselves way beyond any accepted norms of decency and ethics, even allowing for the greed-fuelled world of professional sport. There is another simple truism Sonny Bill needs to concentrate on for the rest of his life: treat others in the same manner you expect to be treated yourself. I fully admit that I, like many others, have found the allure of the SBW road show the gift that keeps on giving to me as a columnist. But I for one wont ever be able to revel in or enhance the Sonny Bill saga again - despite any future, exceptional on-field performances - without big dollops of the sour taste that weve all had to digest recently, lingering for a long time. That in turn prompts an honest evaluation to weigh up the myth versus the reality if Williams is to ever pull on an All Blacks jersey again. I reckon the current All Blacks Most Valuable Back is the lethal Ben Smith who is worth twice any amount of cash that the NZRU could dredge up for SBW. In fact, Id put the other two Smiths, both Conrad and Aaron not far behind when evaluating their worth. Yes you have to account for the bizarre anomaly that there seem to be two Maa Nonus - one for the Super 15 and another for the All Blacks. But due to Nonus consistency again this year in the black jersey, I cant see SBW having taken over the 2nd-five slot next year from Nonu who I believe is currently the worlds best rugby player in the No.12 jersey. Im not for a second going to deny that having Williams in our 2015 World Cup would be a huge boost. But for now, Nonu is the man. *Controversy Corner
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 04:03:26 +0000
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