UPDATED: 7:32am – Sonny Bill Williams is clear to play in the first Bledisloe Cup Test after the terms of his suspension were changed under appeal.
Representatives of All Blacks second five-eighth Williams persuaded an independent appeal panel that a warm-up fixture on August 11 met the regulations to constitute a match.
The match in Pukekohe, in which the All Blacks play 40 minutes each each against Taranaki and Counties Manukau, can count as part of Williams’ four-game suspension following his sending off in the second Test loss to the British and Irish Lions.
It frees the 31-year-old up to make his return against the Wallabies in Sydney eight days later.
World Rugby originally deemed the “game of three halves” in Pukekohe wasn’t a meaningful contest.
In a statement, it expressed “surprise” at the decision of the appeal panel and plans to seek clarity on what represents a match.
“While World Rugby respects the decision of the independent appeal committee to uphold the appeal by New Zealand’s Sonny Bill Williams against the matches that counted towards his four-week suspension, it is surprised by the committee’s interpretation of the definition of ‘match’ (which is defined in Regulation 1 as “a game in which two teams compete against each other”),” read World Rugby’s statement.
World Rugby would refer the interpretation to its regulations committee when it meets in September.
