Sonny's French holiday in strife
November 05, 2008 12:00am

SONNY Bill Williams' future at French rugby club Toulon is under a cloud following reports his Polynesian teammates are threatening to fly home if besieged coach Tana Umaga is sacked.

Players are said to have organised a secret meeting with a series of text messages to sound their warning and threatened to strike. That turn of events has coincided with former Wallabies coach John Connolly joining the club this week as a consultant to review its disappointing start.

Connolly's arrival has increased speculation former All Blacks star Umaga is on the verge of being shown the door, with Connolly to take over. "Knuckles'' has previously coached French club Stade Francais.

"Polynesians threaten for their part, in the event of the sacking of Tana Umaga, to take the first flight to their country of origin,'' French daily Midi Olympique claimed.

Umaga was the driving force behind Toulon signing the former Bulldogs NRL star in controversial circumstances this year. And Williams is also one of the players at Toulon with a proud Polynesian heritage.

But he has played precious little football after fracturing his tibia and is due to make his long-awaited comeback in the next few weeks.

Toulon's playing roster also includes former Penrith Panthers winger Luke Rooney, ex-Wallaby halfback Matt Henjak and All Black backrower Jerry Collins. Pressure again mounted on Umaga after the big-spending Toulon were thrashed 42-20 by Montauban recently.

They now sit third last on the French Top 14 table with only two wins and one draw from nine starts, one point ahead of second-last placed Castres.

"In short, it's no joking matter in Toulon and the situation could escalate,'' Midi Olympique said.

The situation led club president and self-made multi-millionaire Mourad Boudjellal to make a point of stating his support for Umaga last weekend. History has shown that is not always a good sign.

Toulon has a week off this week and Midi Olympique said it will not be an easy break for the president or his staff.

"They have an obligation to find a solution otherwise the threat of strike action may be strengthened,'' the newspaper warned. The Independent newspaper's Peter Bills savaged the state of affairs at Toulon after watching their most recent loss.

"Umaga's team was hopeless against Montauban,'' he wrote. "In their 100th year, this shambles is a sad indictment of a club suddenly flushed with cash by the arrival of a non-rugby businessman obsessed with signing star names, most from the past.''

He described Boudjellal as a business professional who doesn't know anything about how to run a rugby club professionally. "One wonders how much longer Tana Umaga is likely to survive in an increasingly desperate atmosphere,'' Bills said.