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How the Sonny Bill Williams deal transpired: Inside the '$10m dollar dinner' deal
Before embarking on his third Rugby World Cup, Sonny Bill Williams intended to remain in New Zealand next year.
A two-hour dinner with Toronto Wolfpack coach Brian McDermott in Japan – the week after the All Blacks were knocked out of the tournament in their semifinal defeat to England – and no doubt the staggering offer to play in the English Super League, changed those plans.
Williams met his Manchester-based Wolfpack team-mates for the first time yesterday and today made his first public appearance as the biggest signing in the club’s three-year existence.
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His big reveal, if you could call it that, involved Williams taking centre stage at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in north London where his brand and its pulling power was again compared to the likes of LeBron James.
Set against a billboard of Williams featuring in the 2015 World Cup for the All Blacks and the 2013 World Cup semifinal with the Kiwis at Wembley, his introduction alone took five minutes.
Toronto’s general manager Martin Vickers listed Williams’ two NRL Premierships, 7-0 boxing record, Olympic Games venture with the New Zealand sevens team and that he boasts the most successful win ratio of those to win two Rugby World Cups.
Vickers finished by labelling Williams a pioneer who challenged the boundaries of sport.
Once Williams took his seat, much of the focus centred on how this latest deal – one in which he will reportedly earn $10 million over two years and become the highest paid rugby player on the planet – transpired.
Williams said while he allowed manager Khoder Nasser to negotiate with interested parties during the World Cup, he requested not to be informed until the week after the semifinal defeat.
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“My understanding was around the World Cup,” Williams said of Toronto’s offer which was first reported in February. “That’s when I was first made aware of it. Obviously the lads in the teams I’ve been playing for were giving me stick but I hadn’t heard anything from the club.
“My manager was speaking to these guys around that time but I said I don’t want to hear anything about it because I wouldn’t have done myself, New Zealanders or the jersey any justice thinking that way.
“When we got knocked out after England that’s when we started having these conversations.
“It’s been a whirlwind. This deal came to fruition in quite a short space of time.
“To be honest before the World Cup I was intending on staying in New Zealand for maybe one more year but once this came about it was an opportunity that I couldn’t turn down, and now we’re here.”
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Williams said he began watching Toronto games in Japan to get a feel for their style of play and he then contacted some of their Australian players to gauge feedback. He also recounted how he told All Blacks coach Steve Hansen of his plans.
“It might have been that [final] week on the training paddock Shag as he does comes up to you ‘hey how you going cobber is this news right?’ I just told him I haven’t sat down yet with the coaches but I’m talking to them and if it all goes well it looks like it’ll be coming to fruition and I’ll be signing.”
Other than the obvious financial lure, the dinner where McDermott outlined his vision and the club’s ambition after gaining promotion to the Super League ultimately convinced Williams to sign on.
“It was awesome sitting down with Brian it was supposed to be a 30-40 minute catch up and we sat there for over two hours picking each other’s brains.
“I loved what he was saying. No disrespect to rugby league but sometimes it can be really monotonous. You know where they are going and where they are going to set up. I really believed in what he was saying.
“I left that meeting thinking not only am I excited about going and playing there but their purpose and what they’re trying to achieve as a team.”
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McDermott made it clear Toronto were keen to leverage Williams’ brand as much as possible but that he was more interested in the athlete. He described the dinner as the pair machine gunning each other with questions.
“I think we both knew that night this could be good,” McDermott said. “I don’t know if it was a done deal from Sonny’s point of view but I went out there certainly with the intent that if it didn’t go well, Sonny wasn’t signing with us.
“The whole night boiled down to one question and that was ‘are you coming to be a rugby league player?’ On every level that means the good stuff, the headline grabbing stuff but also the hard stuff you’ve got to go through.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate to tell you specifically what his answer was but he more than assured me he’s there to earn the respect of everyone at the club before he starts being what you think you’ve signed on.
“My aim is not to get the best from Sonny Bill Williams in round one. His transition from rugby union is going to take some time.”
Asked exactly what swung his decision from staying in New Zealand to moving his wife and their young family, including three children and one on the way, to the other side of the world, Williams said he was inspired to pave another pathway in North America.
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“For me, yes, I’m a sportsman but I need to have that purpose, something to believe in.
“There’s a lot of people that are pointing at us and laughing but if we succeed it will open avenues for young Polynesian and Maori boys, young English lads, that could provide for themselves and their family in another country. That’s the way I look at it.
“Overall what they’re trying to achieve on and off the field is something special. Instead of looking at the challenges as ‘wow, what if I fail?’ it’s what if we succeed. To say I’ve been part of that would be something special.”
Williams plans to spend five weeks in Sydney for a training camp before shifting north to prepare for his Super League debut against Castleford at Headingly in February.
“When it comes to skill wise and knowing the game I grew up playing the game so I’m confident in that aspect but physically I’ve got a little bit to go but right here right now I’m in a good space.”
This article first appeared on nzherald.co.nz and was republished with permission.
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Comments on RugbyPass
We will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
2 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
1 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
2 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
9 Go to commentsThe Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
9 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
39 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
11 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
39 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
86 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
86 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
14 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
14 Go to comments