Sonny Bill's arrival re-energises Ma'a Nonu

BY DUNCAN JOHNSTONE IN MELBOURNE

Ma'a Nonu admits he's energised by the presence of Sonny Bill Williams on the New Zealand scene and that has shown with the Wellington player's outstanding return to the All Blacks for the Tri-Nations campaign.

Nonu's six weeks on the sidelines with a knee injury coincided with the New Zealand Rugby Union's successful drive to gain the prized signature of hyped league convert Williams.

Williams has made a successful switch to rugby playing mostly at 12, Nonu's position.

Now while Williams' debut for Canterbury in the ITM Cup is delayed by a knee injury of his own, Nonu has shown the standards required to operate in the middle of the All Blacks backline.

The blockbusting 28-year-old was superb in the two scintillating win over the Springboks, scoring tries in Auckland and Wellington. Now he wants to continue that against the Wallabies in Melbourne tomorrow night in a Tri-Nations test that doubles as the Bledisloe Cup opener.

"I think it's exciting," Nonu says of Williams' desire to crack the All Blacks with the World Cup looming next year.

"There's that hype of someone else coming in. He's a mega-star in league and played well for Toulon.

"I watched a lot of his games at Toulon and he was going well. He probably had the right guidance under Tana who kind of helped me.

"So I think it's good for the game and good for me. But the All Blacks is a challenge in itself. When you get to my age, it's always a challenge and if you worry about it too much you get put off your game.

"If you look at New Zealand there are a lot of other second fives who played well in the Super 14. So the reality is you have to play well all the time. Just because you played 12 for the All Blacks last year doesn't mean you will again this year. It's about delivering consistently."

Consistency has become a trademark of Nonu's over the past two years and it showed with the instant form he displayed against the Boks, coming back into test rugby against the world champions on the back of 70 minutes of club action the week before.

He felt the injury had hidden benefits for what promises to be another busy year.

"I've feel I've settled in back well. The injury was kind of a blessing in disguise really. You can get the injuries right but you also freshen up. There's always that mental break from the game - it's a matter of resetting again and coming back strong."

He had enjoyed the approach the All Blacks had talent in the Steinlager Series against Ireland and Wales and felt it would suit his game which is built around strong running.

So it proved against the Boks and now he believes the bar will be raised further by the Wallabies on Australian soil.

Having controversially missed out on the last World Cup and with competition gathering around him, Nonu is clearly motivated to remain the standard-bearer for New Zealnd and international rugby.

- © Fairfax NZ News