Sitting in the Toulon Holiday Inn with jet lag and a Subway roll to keep me company seemed the perfect time to reflect on a bizarre few days. I had just left Sonny Bill Williams' place after interviewing him for The Footy Show. And it was hard not to be blown away. He came out swinging, intent on landing a knockout blow, but went 12 rounds. I have seen that side of Sonny on occasions, but never on camera. I should have known he would erupt.

When I entered the apartment at the end of one of those typical French streets that are full of coffee shops and florists, I found Sonny shirtless, gobbling pistachio nuts and as pumped as I've seen him. In fact, I thought he was readying himself to play.

He greeted me with a shoulder-to-shoulder hug and started asking questions about my welfare and my family. When I asked how he was, the answer surprised me.

"Never better, I'm in a beautiful city about to start a new adventure," he said.

We had a few minutes together before the interview while the crew set up. It was only then that I knew how much he had to say. "I've been looking forward to this, let's start it up," he said. There were a couple of areas I knew he could not touch. They will be brought up another day.

"Bruz, I have been copping it for days, my name has been disgraced, that's why I so keen to say what really happened," he told me.

Before we chatted on tape, he told me the tale of his wild ride that landed him in Toulon. Everyone knows he was snapped in Singapore. And that a Customs officer tipped off a radio station that he was heading out of the country. "It's strange that people in Customs are allowed to do that thing," he said. "I told him I was heading out for eight months and that obviously triggered it off."

Sonny and Khoder Nasser's brother Ahmed travelled to London. They stayed in a hotel at Wimbledon and hoped to avoid getting caught by the media. "We went out a couple of times at night, but Sonny wore a hoody every time," Ahmed said.

They had to hang out in London because Sonny had visa problems as a result of travelling on his Samoan passport. Media had staked out the French Embassy, but they didn't count on the ambassador organising a back-door entry.

"The ambassador was more than happy to get us in with 15 media waiting out the front," Ahmed said.

The main reason the pair weren't spotted was because Sonny's French agent knows the ropes and got the pair into France from Gatwick Airport because it has less strict security checks. They flew into Biarritz, some seven hours from Toulon.

They then went to the town of Pau, where they stayed in a resort for one night. When Sonny went to the local gym, he was spotted by some young rugby fans who identified him. Sonny denied who he was, but they produced an internet page on the local gym computer.

They moved out of the resort because of that incident and to the friend of Sonny's new French agent Nicolas Pironneau.

"I stayed in a little town and did training out in the fields there," Williams recounted. "It had that feel like one of those Rocky films, training in the wilderness surrounded by beautiful fields.

"I did boxing, core work, played volleyball and tennis, and swam. It was just great."

The family he stayed with also got two cakes for his 23rd birthday, which he celebrated with them.

"They also bought me a rugby diary and filled in my days there," he said. "They cooked for me, cleaned up and looked after me. I'm really grateful for everything they did."

From there, it was on to Toulon for medicals and then the interview.

Just before the cameras were ready to roll, a familiar face popped his head in - All Blacks legend Jerry Collins. He and Williams are now teammates at Toulon and he wished Sonny all the best for the chat. Their exchange cracked Sonny's steely glaze for a moment and lightened him up - briefly.

Williams came prepared. As I was talking to him, I could see his brain clicking over. He knew the areas he wanted to target and he hit them hard. He didn't flinch when the tough questions were asked and wanted to take things on.

We talked for almost 50 minutes. We did the interview in an apartment without air conditioning so on a couple of occasions, we had to towel the big bloke down. He lost his train of thought on one answer, but other than that he was very lucid. There is no doubt he believed everything he was saying. And he knew the risk he was taking and prepared for that. His comments, especially about Steve Folkes, would have rattled the Dogs.

However, club management all knew about his gripes. The fact that nothing was done is believed to have rattled some of their most powerful officials, Leagues club boss John Ballesty among them.

Knowing Khoder Nasser, Williams would have something else up his sleeve if things get nasty with the club. What that is remains to be seen.

Some of the interview ended up on the cutting-room floor. That related in part to his criticism of his previous managers, Gavin and Chris Orr. Williams revealed he has been hit with a bill of $127,000 for the past year. And he wants to know how that is possible.

He has asked his accountants - who the Orr brothers recommended - but "they couldn't explain that to me", Williams said. What is annoying him even more is that the Orrs still have him on their website.

"I have told them privately I am not with them and told them publicly I am not with them," he said. "They still want to use my name to attract clients and that is not right in my eyes."

After we finished talking, Williams lay on one of two single beds in an air-conditioned part of the apartment. Khoder Nasser lay on the other bed and they talked trash. Williams was relieved, though angry at me for calling him a greedy bastard during the interview.

"But I know that a lot of people think I am," he said. "And I can't change what they think."

He got things off his chest. And with that he rose from his bed to help some of his friends cook tuna pasta.

Nasser thought Sonny delivered well. He'd been through his own ordeal. After attending Anthony Mundine's fight, he flew to be by Sonny's side. Toulon has only two major hotels and with News Ltd on the lookout for him, he landed in its lap a day after he appeared on Channel Nine.

He had a mineral water in the bar late one night and News Ltd reporters perched themselves one floor above to eavesdrop on our conversation. They then followed him into the hotel lift, throwing questions at him. No wonder he told them to "F-off and get out of my space."

Nasser has copped heaps, but he knew he would. Sonny doesn't speak to News Ltd and nor does he. So News had to attack those around Williams.

So what are my thoughts?

The Dogs should have seen this coming and acted on his complaints about Folkes. If Folkes' best argument is to ask Hazem El Masri about Williams, he's in a spot of bother. I'm not advocating his decision to break a contract, but I can clearly see why he did and why he was so frustrated.

To have your closest mates ridiculed and to be underpaid are hard things to deal with. And when an option as lucrative as the one he had is offered, that is hard to ignore.

And one other thing. Don't ask for mustard on your Subway in France - unless you like things hot.