SUPER SUB: Wonderful Williams locks down final for All Blacks

If anyone needed reminding how talented an all-round sportsman Sonny Bill Williams is, they were treated to a masterclass from the New Zealander in Saturday’s Rugby World Cup final against fierce rivals Australia at Twickenham.

The destructive 30-year-old, huge muscles rippling underneath his All Black shirt, came off the replacement’s bench for the second half with the match delicately poised.

The favourites had built up an impressive first-half lead of 16-3, however the Wallabies should never be counted out and so it proved in a thrilling second half.

Williams came on for centre Conrad Smith with Steve Hansen’s team in the box seat, thanks to three penalties from Dan Carter and a conversion to add to Nehe Milner-Skudder’s try on the stroke of half-time.

New Zealand could have taken their foot off the gas at that point, but that’s not the All Blacks way - thankfully for rugby union fans the world over.

Within a couple of minutes, Williams showed exactly why Hansen made the switch.

The Auckland native had already completed an outrageous offload to keep the ball moving when he ran at the Australian defence in the 42nd minute.

With two Wallabies defenders trying desperately to bring him down, the towering New Zealander simply extended his right arm above them and fed the ball to fellow centre Ma'a Nonu who burst through a tiny gap to race clear for a crucial try.

Carter missed the conversion attempt to leave the All Blacks in a seemingly impregnable position until referee Nigel Owens intervened to sin bin Ben Smith for a dangerous tackle.

Australia duly forced their way back into the match against 14 men with two converted tries to leave the destination of the Webb Ellis Cup in doubt with 15 minutes remaining.

Carter’s impudent drop goal on 70 minutes and his long-range penalty five minutes from time put the All Blacks clear again before Beau Barrett sprinted clear in the final minute to cap off a famous victory, but it was the Nonu try and Williams’ impact off the bench that ultimately gave the defending champions an important gap when the Wallabies came charging back into the game.

The irony being that Williams could have turned out for Australia due to his maternal grandmother. All Blacks fans will be relieved he chose New Zealand at the start of his rugby league career instead of Australia or Samoa ahead of his highly publicised switch to union.

Williams now has two union World Cups to his name, alongside a host of club accolades in both codes at the Bulldogs, Canterbury, Chiefs and Roosters.

After winning the WBA International Heavyweight boxing title as well in 2013, could we see the strapping six foot four-inch phenomenon taking on and winning versus the likes of Wladimir Klitschko, Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua? You wouldn’t bet against it.

The post-match talk centred around Williams’ selfless gesture in giving young fan Charlie Line his gold medal after he was tackled to the ground by a steward, which somewhat overshadowed how important his playing contribution was to the All Blacks cause.

Carter is fully deserving of his World Rugby player of the year award to cap off an extraordinary international career that sees him depart the scene together with fellow legends Conrad Smith, Nonu, Keven Mealamu and, possibly, skipper Richie McCaw, however it was a classic Williams offload seconds after coming on that proved the difference for me.

This is a weekly column for Yahoo Sport UK

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