Sonny Bill Williams will remain on tour with the All Blacks if his wife gives birth to their first child over the next four weeks.
Set to make his return to international rugby in Saturday's tour-opening Test against the US in Chicago, ex-NRL star Williams clarified his stance on the birth to coach Steve Hansen before the tour began.
Williams' wife Alana is expecting their first child in two to three weeks' time while teammate Charlie Faumuina's wife Rachelle is heavily pregnant with their second child.
"Both of them are staying on the tour regardless of whether the baby comes early or the baby comes late," Hansen told NZ Newswire.
Hansen has always maintained there is no protocol for All Blacks fathers-in-waiting.
Players make their own decision about whether to attend the birth of their children, with a number having missed Tests in recent seasons for that reason.
This year centre Conrad Smith skipped August's drawn Test against Australia in Sydney, then hooker Dane Coles flew home from Argentina a month ago. Both watched their first child born, a son.
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