Willie Mason: A man lost in transition
In Australian NRL terms, the name Willie Mason strikes fear into the heart of many opponents. In the sport of rugby league, he has a reputation for being a beast, a warrior, a mammonth. Known as 'Big Willie', he is renowned for being the hard man of the pack, never one to take a backward step or to show fear, a big ball carrier. He reminds me of a Bakkies Botha or a Simon Shaw playing the enforcer type role.
A physical speciman at 6ft 4" and over 18 stone, he has been a colossal heartbeat of the Australian pack for many a year. He has achieved success throughout his career in the 13 man code spanning over a decade in the NRL competition, known as the best in the world.
Born in New Zealand, raised in Australia who he played for internationally, Tongan parents, eligible for both the USA and Samoa national rugby league squads, he played for Hull KR in England and has now moved to the Top 14 in France with Toulon. Having also continuously flirted with the idea of trying his hand at American Football in the NFL, his tale to tell is quite a story, remarkable.
Despite all is great exploits on the field of play, his distinguished career has continuously been marred by off the field discretions. Testing positive for an illicit social drug, visiting a brothel after a night out, unprofessional behaviour on a night out, verbally abusing a female journalist, urinating in a public place, he was voted the 'Most Hated Player' in a fans poll in 2007. He continually divides opinion and is up there with Gavin Henson with regards to stupidity on the field. But like the Welshman, when he gets it right on the field, he is a handful.
But there is a problem. He is untried, untested in rugby union. Having never played the sport until his two brief recent cameo appearences for the Barbarians, he will find it initally very difficult to adapt. All the basic concepts of union that we take for granted - the scrum, lineout, breakdown area, rucks, mauls - he has never experienced, never learnt from. Regardless of what people say, league and union are two completly different animals and for this animal to succeed, he needs to pick up basic survival skills very quickly.
Somewhat surprisingly, he is going to go from a rugby league rampaging prop in the loose to a skilfull inside centre in union. I am surprised. Surely his skills and assets would have been better suiting in the pack at blindside flanker or second row? That is just my personal view but I think at the age of 31, he hasn't got much time to adapt to the rigerous of rugby union. He could be a flop, seriously. Money bags Toulon have taken a massive gamble on signing a player who is expected to make a huge transition into French life. He has been asked to fill the rather big boots of Sonny Bill Williams. It is a big ask and I certainly have my doubts.
The question is, why would he come to union at this stage of his career? He surely only has a couple of years left at the top the game so maybe it was a long-term ambition to test his skills in union before he retired and hung up his boots. In the coming months, it shall be interesting to see how he handles the pressure because he is definietly under pressure, a marquee signing, a marked man and all eyes will be on 'Big Willie' to see if he can wreak havoc in the centre of midfield.
Having shown glimpses of what he is capable of against Wales in a recent capped international at the Millenium Stadium, he can start next season with Toulon in high spirits. For sure, he will be playing in some pretty illustrious company at Toulon. The likes of Carl Hayman, Jonny Wilkinson and Matt Giteau are sure to look after him but in the ruthless environment with which Toulon operate under, he needs to assert his authority on the Top 14 early. Otherwise, he could have no where to go, a man lost in transition.
