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.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Etzebeth went on to say: “I would never dream of saying that systems stay in place following a change in captain. To say that would be deeply, deeply, disrespectful of Siya. A while back an Irish person told me they would be fine without Sexton, so I’m just responding to that.”
3 Go to commentsClose games are what we want to see…. What a match it was…. I am sure that everyone was drained by the end of it. The reality of it all there has to be a winner and a loser. The fact that we still talking about it is almost 6 months to the day Rugby is the winner.. Asante sana… Here is to 2027 and what it will bring out.
182 Go to commentsIt’s going to be a good game. COYQ
1 Go to comments“Shock”, the guy was casually saying he was just slightly surprised. Nowadays if you say anything it gets taken completely out of context. Calm down everyone.
156 Go to commentsAll I can say after reading this bitter, sour, sad piece is… Thank you very much! This will be read in the change room just before kick off on 31 August…
182 Go to commentsLook, we know contradicting opinions and wacky comments bring readers and clicks, so well done to RP for allowing always-wrong-Ben to say something here. However RP needs to put a disclaimer next to his comments for their own credibility. NZ was and is incapable of acknowledging their opp beating them. They refused so with Ire and with Arg in 2022 and also the Boks in 2023 x 2. Nothing Ben says here holds water, NZ attacked backwards, except when Kolisi and Kolbe was off And cyncialy took out Bongi, we played without lineouts for 75mins. Kolisi and Kurt-Lee almost scored twice. Thats 3 vs 2 for Boks, but the Boks opportunities was legal. Boks should have been 16-3 up by half time. Tacticaly the Boks attacked better defended better scrummed better (without a hooker) kicked better and crossed the whitewash more times. Boks beat Fr Eng Nz to win in 23, comeon give some credit at least. Even Federer Verstappen NY Mets, Mamoa, was able to see a great human sport achievement by the Boks and their DNA Boks #RWC27 !🏉
182 Go to commentsForget the 85kg bit, that can become something else. However I do like the one off test on ANZAC day idea. SR plays Fri/ Sat, test players travel Sunday and the squads have the full week together before playing Saturday. Rest of SR has a week off. Either involve women's teams in same location or in the other country and rotate annually. Herbert is right in that change is needed.
3 Go to commentsI’ve read loads of nonsense before but this article takes the cake. Or perhaps someone changed the date for April Fool's Day.
3 Go to commentsReally Rugbypass? Ben Smith I think you forgot what the Springboks did to the All Blacks at Twickenham 8 weeks earlier? Springboks 35 All Blacks 7. There is alot of ifs and buts in your article. The All Blacks threw the sink at the Springboks and unfortunately they were not good enough regardless if they played with 14 men or not. It was the Springboks who forced the All Blacks to make mistakes! Sorry but not Sorry the Springboks is the best ever Rugby World Cup Nation in the world. 4 Cups baby!
182 Go to commentsYou just backed the Boks with that fantastic review! Well done! Have some cake!
182 Go to commentsBen Smith please write up something better than this. The Springboks would have won the world cup if you were 15 men on the field. They would have found a way, they always find a way to beat the All Blacks.
182 Go to commentsWow, there is a lot of “could have” and “ should have” in this waist of time dribble. I love the desperation in this story to search for a glimpse at a silver lining. Here are the facts, NZ was a badly coached and undisciplined shadow of their former glory. They never took the lead in a game they were never going to win.
182 Go to commentsGOTTA MAKE ‘THE GEORGE’ HAPPEN!!!! That’s a great idea! A trans Tasman midget battle on ANZAC Day. I don’t think the ABs Wallabies game should be a one off winner takes all though, just the first match with the other two later in the year with the RC. Reason being, no one will ever shut up about how aussies couldn’t win it when it was a 3 match series.
3 Go to comments@Ben smith. Thats knock out rugby. So honeslty who cares?
182 Go to commentsIt will interesting to know which Irish players said that…
2 Go to commentsNaaaww boys will be boys! Now run along ya wee scamp! Don’t let us catch you at again😏
1 Go to commentsGreat to have Ethan Blackadder back in the Crusaders in the last few weeks. One of the best all round loose forwards around. He played so well last week against the Rebels. Fantastic attitude Ethan has and his comments are spot on.
2 Go to commentsThe author is 100% right. The Springboks know that they don't have near the natural attraction, mana, skill and mystic the All Blacks have. So, Chasing the sun 1 & 2 was concocted to overblow the Boks image on the back of a corruptly obtained “win". It's marketing ploy to force the Boks delusion as the World's Best. I guess World Rugby is also not to be believed when it came out with an apology about how the final was officiated. And if the 2023 final such a superb game by the Boks, then the Boks crying about Referee Bryce Lawrence for decades is also deserves a laugh. Chase the sun and get burned like a moth. A very well written literary piece that tore the Boks and Chasing the sun farce to shreds. 🖤All Blacks🏉
182 Go to commentsI’d say France was far more hard done by in the 2011 final than the All Blacks in this game. Joubert simply refused to call a penalty against the All Blacks in the last quarter even directing an All Black to drop a ball he picked up in an offside position rather than penalizing him. This article also totally discounts the efforts of PSTD. Ask Jordie how well he played. Or the backup flank who played hooker for the entire game. Siya was also a brilliant tackle by Richie from scoring a blinder. Pollard was also fantastic. Look I don’t like the boks style but the only thing more questionable than the content of this article is the timing of it. Get over it already
182 Go to commentsDad Marty was also a handy rugby player for Linwood back in the day. Great bloke. Sensational softball career.
2 Go to comments