Inspirational Ali motivates Sonny Bill’s Rio dreams
Veterans keen for more
Sonny Bill Williams says he is drawing inspiration from the late, great Muhammad Ali as he seeks to win an Olympics gold medal.
Williams is part of the New Zealand men’s sevens team, as the sport debuts at the Rio Games.
‘‘From an athlete’s point of view, for me, there was no one bigger than Ali,’’ Williams told Espnscrum.
‘‘He’s my man. He won a gold medal, he was an Olympian and it would be awesome to say I am an Olympian as well.
‘‘His faith [was inspiring] and I guess, though he didn’t always say the right things, he always backed it up. I appreciate that from an athlete. I can only imagine the scrutiny and amount of people that would want to see him fail. But he kept on trucking on.’’
Williams has dabbled in boxing successfully, and starred in league Veteran sevens stars DJ Forbes and Tim Mikkelson have joined four team-mates in signing on for another world series tilt.
The pair, along with Sam Dickson, Sione Molia, Regan Ware and Joe Webber, join captain Scott Curry, who had already signed through to the end of 2018.
All seven are part of the 14-strong sevens squad that departs tomorrow for a pre-olympics training camp in Florida.
Dickson, Mikkelson, Molia and Webber have signed to 2018, and Forbes and Ware through to the end of 2017.
‘‘This is a great bunch of guys who excelled in what was a challenging season for the team so it’s good news that they’ve chosen to commit to sevens again,’’ said New Zealand Rugby general manager rugby Neil Sorensen. expected him to win, the odds were stacked against him but somehow he did. It showed the character of him, the man he was.’’
Williams’ personality and popularity add to his value as a player, whatever challenge is in front of him. He’s certainly proven his worth as a sevens convert, impressing the notoriously tough New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens with his dedication.
Williams emphasised he never wants the sideshows to distract from the main event.
‘‘I try and not let that dictate my life,’’ he told Espnscrum.
‘‘I let my family and religion dictate that. Although I’m not perfect, I know where my happy place is.
‘‘I can veer off course but that’s where I have to get back to. That’s what I try and focus on. I’m a rugby player, this or that, but that’s not my whole life. I know who I really am, what I stand for and try and get back to that.’’