Sonny Bill Williams is not in contempt of court - yet.

In another bizarre twist, NRL lawyer Tony O'Reilly yesterday revealed Williams was not issued with a NSW Supreme Court injunction before making his debut for French rugby club Toulon.

Williams went to great lengths to avoid being served, travelling to the game separately from his teammates, hiding in the change rooms and failing to line up with the Toulon side before bolting on to the field at the last moment.

The injunction was finally handed to him after the game. Williams refused to touch them, putting his hands in the air and saying, "No, no, no."

O'Reilly said: "We have served Williams, but it did not happen until after the match. What happened before the game was, he didn't travel on the team bus, so the process server I arranged to be at the ground, and the place where the team boarded the bus, wasn't able to serve him.

"Williams came to the ground separately from his team. They kept him in the dressing room the whole time. When the team lined up on the field, he didn't line up with them. He only ran on to the field once the match started, right at the outset. He was unable to be served because he didn't present himself in public at any time."

Williams's game of hide-and-seek before his rugby debut against Carqueiranne-Hyeres would resemble a Benny Hill skit if the whole saga wasn't so serious. If Williams plays next weekend, this time there will be serious legal ramifications.

"The fact Williams didn't get the papers until after the match means the next game is the relevant one," O'Reilly said. "It's likely he had knowledge of the order before this game, but that would be difficult to prove. If he plays again, we will be required to advise the court that their order has been defied.

"He did not accept the documents when they were offered to him after the match but in our view, that still constitutes personal service. We will have to seek confirmation from the court. The way Williams and the club acted was consistent with knowing about the order."

Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal had claimed no knowledge of the court order.

"That is not true," O'Reilly said. "There was a letter to Williams, a copy of the court order. There was a copy of the letter in French, a copy of the court order in French - they were faxed to the two fax numbers at the club office on its website. It was also sent to the email address that the club has. And it was personally delivered to the registered office of the club in Toulon.

"They've received it in a number of ways. It's one thing for him to defy the Bulldogs and not comply with the terms of his contract. But courts generally do not take kindly to their orders being defied."