Pizzas galore!

However, while the players appear to opted for the money, Mr Gallop insists the real issue here is loyalty.

"This is something more fundamental than money, more fundamental than contracts," he said. "Walking out on your team-mates mid-season without notice flies in the face of why kids are encouraged to take up team sport."

Many in Australia see the young rugby star's actions as an illustration of how much his character has changed since he arrived to a hero's welcome in the NRL four years ago.

Then he was seen as potentially the greatest player in the game's history. But the humble boy who arrived in Australia soon became disillusioned with his high profile after a series of damaging stories about his off-field antics.

Last year he admitted to an alcohol problem when he was fined $750 for urinating in public. More embarrassingly, he was photographed in a toilet cubicle at a Sydney pub with ironwoman Candice Falzon. He later apologised, claiming to have no memory of the incident.

The first signs that he might be planning to quit rugby league came in May, when he admitted he would be tempted to switch to rugby union if the All Blacks came knocking.

Rumours of an imminent defection increased later that month when his club threatened legal action if its star player walked out. At crisis talks with Williams's management to calm the situation, Sonny Bill was noticeable by his absence.

Last month he revealed he felt "hung out to dry" by the Bulldogs after being made to admit to alcohol problems last year. "I was very p***** off that I had to say I had a drinking problem because the only problem I was being naive," he said.

While the country continues to fume at his betrayal of their sport, Williams is telling close friends he has made the right decision. Anthony Mundine, the world champion boxer, said "he genuinely feels in his heart and in his mind that he's done the right thing".

Mundine, who is planning to visit Williams in Toulon later this week, said "The only thing that was really bugging him was that he didn't have the opportunity to explain to his boys - and I don't know if that was boys as in teammates or boys as his close mates in the team - and his hardcore fans at the Dogs and in rugby league in general how he felt."

That may be a forlorn hope. The young star is facing life-time suspension from the NRL. "He's an adult and he's made this choice," said Mr Gallop. "And he will need to live with the consequences of the choice he's made."

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