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Sonny Bill Williams' Toronto Wolfpack debut ends in defeat
Former All Blacks star Sonny Bill Williams has made a losing return to rugby league in his Super League debut with the Toronto Wolfpack in England.
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The 34-year-old came off the bench 26 minutes into the Wolfpack’s season-opener against Castleford at Headingley, but the Canadian club’s first-ever outing in the Super League finished in defeat as they succumbed to a 28-10 loss.
At the time of Williams’ introduction to the match, the Wolfpack trailed by 10-6, but his involvement in the clash wasn’t able to turn his team’s fortunes.
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The former rugby union midfielder signed a blockbuster two-year deal worth NZ$10m with the Toronto side last November, and said he expects improved performances moving forward.
“It didn’t go to plan but at the end of the day, that’s the game of footy. You win some and you lose some,” Williams said.
“It didn’t go our way but if I look at it from an individual point of view then I know I worked hard and if I continue to do that then the rest will come.
“It’s a long season and I’m just happy to be here.”
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The fixture marks Williams’ first foray in the 13-man code in six years after he left the NRL’s Sydney Roosters to rejoin the All Blacks in 2014.
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The 58-test international added a second World Cup crown to the one he gained in 2011 a year after returning to XVs, made a brief appearance at the 2016 Rio Olympics with the All Blacks Sevens and turned out for both the Chiefs and Blues at Super Rugby level during his second stint in union, which lasted five years.
However, Williams feels right at home after completing his long-awaited return to rugby league, where he has won two NRL titles and played in 12 tests for the Kiwis.
"Your Fodens and all these other players…They kind of disappear into the background whereas this guy absolutely does not.”
– @rugbyunitedny founder talks about the impact of @BastaOfficiel with @heagneyl #FRAvENG #MLRugby 🇫🇷🇺🇸 https://t.co/asNSLRjYI3
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 2, 2020
“I’ve got something to work on, a good base. I am feeling really good,” he said.
“They were looking to play me for 20 or 30 minutes but I was feeling really good out there.
“From a team point of view I am very disappointed but individually I’m just glad I got back out there and got a taste of it and started to get my rhythm.”
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Williams will miss next week’s match against Salford in Manchester as he intends to return to New Zealand for the birth of his fourth child, but expects to only be out of action for one week.
The Wolfpack aren’t scheduled to make a home appearance on Canadian soil until mid-April, when they host Hull FC at Lamport Stadium in round 11.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
Beautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to comments