Sonny Bill Williams

The star All Blacks midfielder became the first New Zealand player in 50 years to receive a red card, sent off by referee Jerome Garces in his side's 24-21 second-Test loss to the Lions in Wellington.

Williams was sent for an early shower in the 25th minute after a crunching shoulder charge that struck Lions winger Anthony Watson flush in the face.

After a period of discussion with his assistant referees and TMO George Ayoub, Garces said he was left with no choice but to brandish red.

Te'o leads the clashes between the cross-code converts 3-2, and holds the historical upper hand after landing a big shot last time they meet in the 2014 NRL preliminary final.

Prior to it being banned, Williams rose to fame on the back of his impeccable timing when laying on shoulder charges during his successful NRL career.

But last time out, Te'o got one back with an illegal shot of his own on Williams.

Three years on, the Kiwi-born midfielders are sure to again come to blows at Eden Park in the first test between the All Blacks and Lions on Saturday.

Perofeta made his Super Rugby debut for the side in Apia last week, coming off the bench in the second half.

Coach Tana Umaga said Perofeta's performance in that game earned him a spot in the squad named to face The Lions.

"It's an opportunity for Stevie to step up, we think that he's ready to do that, he has a lot of experience and support around him.

"His skill set belies his age, he could have been on tour with the under 20s but we kept him behind, we just want to make sure he keeps developing, and he's earned the right to start for us this week," Umaga said.

The rugby superstar, who gave no warning of his actions as he appeared off the Blues bench last Saturday, is yet to explain his stance but if his intention was to draw attention to the issue, he has certainly achieved that.

The story has been followed closely in Australia and South Africa, the partnering countries to New Zealand in Super Rugby, but the issue has gone wider than that.

The Irish Times noted Williams' stance in their latest rugby wrap and drew an analogy with boxing legend Muhammad Ali in a piece headlined: SBW – Islam versus Banking.

A statement issued by the Blues this morning says they and New Zealand rugby have been in discussions with sponsors BNZ and will announce the outcome of those shortly.The statement said neither the Blues nor Williams will be making any comment prior to that.

Under their collective contract players can lodge conscientious objections to promoting finance, alcohol, tobacco, gambling companies and banks.

The taped-up collar was obvious when the All Black centre came off the bench in the Blues game against the Highlanders in Dunedin on Saturday night.

It was understood Williams, who is Muslim, covered the logo for religious reasons.

Muslims believe the charging of interest is prohibited by the Quran.

As a part of their collective agreement any player can lodge a conscientious objection to promoting finance, alcohol, tobacco, gambling companies and banks.

The All Blacks' star hasn't played since rupturing an Achilles tendon, during the New Zealand sevens team's Olympic Games campaign last year.

But his rehabilitation is moving at a promising rate and the 31-year-old expects to make his Super Rugby debut for the Blues in April.

"Slowly but surely. It's a tough old injury to come back from but I'm doing my part and I'm doing my best to hopefully get on that field soon," Williams said, during Thursday's RugbySmart launch at New Zealand Rugby headquarters in Wellington.

RNZ reports New Zealand suffered one of the biggest upsets in sevens history when they were beaten 14-12 by Japan.

In a double blow for the team Sonny Bill Williams has been ruled out of the tournament with a partial Achilles rupture. He has been replaced by Sione Molia.

Joe Webber also left the field with a suspected dislocated shoulder.

The New Zealanders struggled to get possession in the first half of the pool match against Japan - with the score 7-7 at half time - and Japan defended well after the break.