Sonny Bill takes the limelight
Rugby’s global superstar is a serene figure amid hullabaloo
WHEN Sonny Bill Williams is in town it’s hard to miss, even though the man himself was hidden away by the Chiefs team management this week.
But the sight of his fans camping out at the Chiefs’ city hotel and at a packed inner city mosque on Friday, where Williams took his prayers, are indications that the biggest name in the sport is in residence.
Williams, who converted to Islam several years ago, has made good friends in Cape Town’s Muslim community since 2012 and has won over fans for the Chiefs and New Zealand rugby in general.
The mobile All Blacks centre, rugby league legend and undefeated heavyweight boxer is such a phenomenal athlete that he doesn’t even need to go by his full name. “SBW”, “Sonny Bill” or just plain old “Sonny” will suffice. Everyone knows whom you’re talking about.
The Stormers, who faced SBW at Newlands yesterday, certainly spoke about him, the Chiefs also waxed lyrical about their star signing, and fans were almost hysterical. But in the centre of the celebrity storm SBW is a serene figure, even in the heat of battle.
“One thing I’ve learned over my career is that simplicity is the key. On the field, off as well,” Williams told CNN in an interview in 2013.
“I’ve become a true Muslim. It’s giving me happiness. It’s made me become content as a man and helped me to grow. I’ve got faith in it and it has definitely helped me become the man I am today.”
On the field of play there has never been a player like him. He was an original rugby league star with an off-field list of drinking-related incidents that eventually led him to flee Australia for rugby union in France.
He returned to make the 2011 All Blacks World Cup winning squad and won the 2012 Super Rugby title with the Chiefs before switching back to league with the Sydney Roosters, whom he led to the premiership title in 2013. And now he’s back in union.
It’s that toing and froing between codes, as well as his simultaneous pursuit of a heavyweight boxing career, that has drawn criticism — mainly from Australia.
“There are many people in the media who want to paint him as a code hopper, but he sets goals and big challenges for himself and fulfils them,” Chiefs coach Dave Rennie said. “Wherever he goes the teams have been hugely successful, so that tells you a lot about him.”
Chiefs captain Liam Messam was also quick to jump to Williams’s defence.
“Sonny is a great team man, but off the field there is nothing special about him. He just tries to be one of the boys,” Messam said. “That’s how he wants it to be and that’s how we treat him. He always puts the team first.”
Rennie added: “His return and adjustment back to union has been easy, it’s like he was never away. He loves the team [Chiefs], he loves the boys and he’s a great role model.
“The good thing about our game is that he gets to play on both sides of the park. In league he predominantly played on the right side of the field but in union he expresses himself across the park.
“Sonny has a fair bit of influence on how the game is played. He’s such a professional when it comes to preparing and he draws the crowds.
“We’ve noticed there are a few more young girls coming to our games as well.” It’s obvious why. His impressive athleticism, lantern-jawed movie star looks and a chiselled 1.91m, 108kg frame make him unmissable, but it’s what he does on the field that really sets him apart.
There has probably never been a better off-loader in rugby.
“I played against Sonny twice in 2011 [before yesterday’s clash at Newlands] and his biggest threat is taking the ball to the gain line and off-loading,” Stormers flank Schalk Burger said.
“He bunches the defence because he is a big unit with great feet, and once he’s done that he off-loads to someone in space. You’re born with that ability to off-load and see the pass, it can’t be taught. And if he gets the pass away it’s impossible to stop.”