All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has defended Sonny Bill Williams from criticism in New Zealand media, praising the midfielder’s "hard work" on the field after a long comeback from an Achilles injury. The 32-year-old has endured a tough reception from home media this season, with pundits declaring him a spent force after some low-key performances during the Rugby Championship. Hansen said he was satisfied with Williams’s output given his long rehabilitation from a ruptured Achilles tendon during the rugby sevens tournament at the 2016 Rio Olympics. "Here’s a guy who’s come off an Achilles injury, a notoriously slow injury to come back from," Hansen told New Zealand media on Tuesday in the lead-up to the third and final Bledisloe Cup Test against Australia. "He’s playing well. When he’s a flashy player, everyone moans about him being too flashy and that he doesn’t do the hard work. At the moment, he’s doing all the hard work and probably not as much of the other stuff that people get ex...
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