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Sonny Bill Williams mega-million dollar code move could see him switch allegiance at World Cup
Sonny Bill Williams’ rumoured cross-code move from rugby union to Canadian-based English Super League outfit the Toronto Wolfpack could bring with it a switch of allegiance at the international level of the 13-man game.
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According to a report from the Sydney Morning Herald released on Saturday, Williams is expected to accept a lucrative two-year contract with the Wolfpack, reportedly worth just under NZ$10 million, by the end of this week.
International Rugby League officials are hopeful that the move will benefit the game worldwide, especially with the Rugby League World Cup set to be held in England in 2021.
IRL chief executive Nigel Wood recalls the impact Williams had at the 2013 World Cup, where the 34-year-old was named player of the tournament after helping steer the Kiwis to the final.
“Sonny Bill was one of the greatest attractions at the 2013 World Cup, it was memorable for me when New Zealand played Samoa at Warrington and he slipped over the dead-ball line without getting the ball down, which brought the game alive,” Wood said to the SMH.
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“He’s a quality athlete and if athletes like him are playing rugby league that is the best thing that can happen.”
Whether Williams would commit himself to the Kiwis at the next World Cup, which would probably act as his professional sporting swansong, has come under scrutiny, however.
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Prior to playing his final game for the All Blacks during New Zealand’s 40-17 victory over Wales in the Rugby World Cup bronze medal match in Tokyo on Friday, Williams spoke of his hopes of seeing more Pacific Islanders or Maori included within the national coaching ranks.
The two-time NRL champion is eligible to play for either the Kiwis or Samoa upon his impending arrival back to rugby league, but his comments in Japan may be indicative of where his international future in the sport could lie.
4 more years?
Eddie Jones could very well lead @EnglandRugby into the 2023 #RWChttps://t.co/YxF8EG6zzq
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 3, 2019
He holds a Samoan passport, and was heavily pursued by ex-New Zealand and Samoan star Nigel Vagana to play for the Pacific Island nation at the 2013 World Cup.
Williams spoke of the pride he has for his Samoan heritage when visited the country in 2014 as part of an NRL promotion while he was playing for the Sydney Roosters.
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“I’m embarrassed I can’t speak Samoan, but I tend to show how proud I am by acknowledging [my heritage] with my tattoos,” he told a large audience at the promotional event.
His addition to the Toa Samoa set-up would be a welcomed addition for head coach Matt Parish, whose side was thumped 44-20 by Fiji at Eden Park on Saturday.
The result leaves Samoa well behind World Cup contenders Australia, New Zealand, England and Tonga, and Parish expressed the need for his side to play more games in the lead-up to the showpiece tournament in two years’ time.
“I need to be a bit careful here, but the fact is Tonga have some momentum, and on the back of talking to influential people in the NRL they’ve been able to get [more] games,” he said.
“It’s deservedly so. [But] we need games. You can’t have New Zealand playing four games [against Australia, Great Britain and Tonga] and we play one. How is that fair? How do we get players, money, sponsorship?”
Perhaps the answer to Parish’s concerns lies within the Wolfpack’s anticipated deal with Williams, but only time will tell.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
Wow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
1 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
13 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
1 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
1 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
16 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
16 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe 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.
3 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.
4 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.
3 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
16 Go to comments