Sonny Bill Williams says he has learned to shut out the kind of raucous reception likely to greet him in Sydney during Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup Test.

The All Blacks’ inside centre will play his first sporting fixture in the city since controversially walking out on his Canterbury NRL contract in 2008.

He managed to avoid Sydney during Super Rugby seasons with the Crusaders and Chiefs and suspected plenty of critics hadn’t forgotten his four-year-old deed.

“I know this week there will be more spotlight on me because of that, but I’ll just focus in on what I need to do,” Williams told journalists.

“I’ve been around for a while now and that kind of stuff doesn’t really faze me. I just get on with the job.

“I get that everywhere I go. Down at the Highlanders (in Dunedin), it wasn’t too good.”

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen expected some hostility towards Williams at the cavernous ANZ Stadium and also from the Sydney rugby league media.

“He’s a special athlete, there’s no doubt about that, so he probably deserves the attention,” Hansen said.

“But the game itself is of big interest. Australia have pumped up the Bledisloe Cup all week. I don’t think it will come down to Sonny Bill playing or not. It will come down to if the two teams can do justice to the occasion.”

Williams hasn’t started a Test against the Wallabies, having notched two bench appearances last year.

He jumped at the chance to put his Japanese club contract on hold when approached by Hansen to play this month’s two Wallabies Tests while injured centre Conrad Smith recovered.

“I thought the dream was over but it’s back for hopefully two more Tests,” said Williams, who has pushed Ma’a Nonu to a less-familiar outside centre role on Saturday.

“I said I’d do anything I could to help, whether it was coming in to help run drills against the boys or play, I was more than willing.

“We had a great season at the (Super Rugby champion) Chiefs. That chapter’s closed and now I can finish my time in New Zealand with something special.”